Plus find out what author/retired FBI agent, John E. Douglas, thinks about the true crime boom!
Mindhunter premiered on Netflix in 2017 and fans have been patiently waiting for season two ever since. However, there has been very few details released, until now! Last week executive producer Charlize Theron revealed that season two would be released this August. The show starring Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, will finally be back to binge on Netflix just before fall.
Fans have been waiting since Mindhunter was officially renewed in November of 2017. With Netflix remaining tight lipped on details for season 2, we weren’t sure when we would see it. Thus far they have still not released any details surrounding the plot or an official release date. But we’ve recently learned that author John E. Douglas has some insider info.
His book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, co-written with Mark Olshaker, has led to many true crime dramatizations. Hannibal and Criminal Minds are largely based around his interviews with violent offenders. His work on films like Silence of the Lambs, brought about Hollywood and audience’s thirst for true crime.
“I know the cases.”
Recently, retired FBI agent John E. Douglas sat down with Vulture and shared some thoughts on the true crime boom. He also gave some details about what we will be seeing in the next season.
“There’s so many killers. I mean, Mindhunter is going to have a five-year arc. At least five years is what they are planning. That’s what David Fincher asked both the actors: “Can you give me five years here?” In fact, Jonathan Groff is actually reading the audiobook of The Killer Across the Table. We asked him to do it and I’m surprised he did it. Nice guy. Both of them. Holt McCallany, who plays Bill Tench, met up with me after a panel and we got dinner. He spent time at my house just learning and trying to figure this character out. He’s supposed to be more like my partner, Robert Ressler, but some of his personality traits are more like mine. I was pretty assertive, more so than the Holden Ford character, but I think he may be going there.
I don’t know about [Mindhunter] season two yet. Usually they will send it to me. I know they are supposed to be eight episodes. I know the cases. They are going to have David Berkowitz, as well as Charles Manson. The Atlanta child killings in the early ’80s, they’re gonna be covering that. But I’m curious to see how they are going to develop this character.”
“Some of these podcasts have done a really good job of bringing light to old cases.”
Douglas also stated that the cultural fascination surrounding true crime is interesting. But he also warns that it could have draw backs on actual police work.
“Some of these podcasts have done a really good job of bringing light to old cases. I’d like to see a little bit more looking at the wrongfully convicted ones. Sometimes that’s the only way, by putting pressure on a department or prosecutor that they’ll refocus again and look at a case. But you just have to be careful, because you don’t want people to interfere with investigations. If a department is actively involved in the case and they’re somehow interfering with interviews, it could hurt an investigation. The popularity, I think it’s really good. The interest just amazes me. The audiences are predominantly women. And even a lot of these podcast [hosts], a lot of ’em are women, which is great.”
“He wasn’t a genius in the way his crimes were perpetrated”
Douglas also took a second to warn us about the way Hollywood portrays some of the most vicious serial killers. Stating, “Yeah, Ed Kemper was 145 IQ, but he wasn’t a genius in the way his crimes were perpetrated. There’s a big debate now with Joe Berlinger, who directed The Bundy Tapes and the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, about if they romanticize it. He says it’s going to show that [Ted Bundy] was diabolical. Yeah, Bundy was not bad looking and fairly intelligent, but he had a manipulative psychopathic personality. When Bundy was arrested, one of the assistant directors came up to me and said, “My wife thinks that Bundy didn’t do it.” He’s definitely responsible for those crimes!”
So we know that, at least according to Charlize Theron, Mindhunter Season 2 will be back in August. It’s rumored that there will be eight episodes and that Fincher is directing the season premiere and finale. We also know that Charles Mason, David Berkowitz, and The Atlanta child killings cases are to be featured. Hopefully we’ll also see more of the BTK murders that were teased in the first season! We’ll keep you updated as more info is released.
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