Mindhunter fans are holding their breath after an unexpected update about the fate of the cancelled Netflix series.

Since its untimely axing by the streaming service following season two, which was released in August 2019, the drama has generated an almost legendary status among TV viewers who regularly hail it, alongside The OA, as the best show show that Netflix prematurely cancelled.

However, all hope might not be lost – months after director David Fincher said the show would not return for a third season, actor Holt McCallany, who played FBI Agent Bill Tench in the drama, has claimed Fincher is considering attempting to resurrect it.

In a recent interview with Awards Daily, McCallany said: “I’ve heard that David’s thought about it. I’m not saying it’s going to come back, but what I am saying is that if it comes back, I’m coming back with it. You can take that to the bank, but it’ll depend on what David wants to do.

While the actor acknowleged the fact that a third season is “probably unlikely” as “it’s been a few years now”, he added: “But just even that he would think about it is a hopeful sign.”

The Independent has contacted Fincher for comment.

Mindhunter follows two FBI agents (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) and a psychologist (Anna Torv) who launch a research project to profile serial killers in order to understand them better.

In February 2023, Fincher said of the streaming service’s decision to discontinue the show: “It’s very expensive and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment [for season three].”

He added: “They took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it, and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer [his next feature],” he said.

In a previous interview with Vulture, Fincher called the production “gruelling and time-consuming” and added that the show was “probably” done. In the same article, a spokesperson for Netflix said that while a third instalment was not currently in the works, it could happen “maybe in five years”.

Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany in ‘Mindhunter’ (Netflix)
Fincher’s working relationship with Netflix has continued thanks to the films Mank and The Killer, which was released in 2023.