The highest praise possible. Mindhunter returns this week.
Much like any TV show or film that becomes a massive success, there are a litany of reasons why Mindhunter really resonated with viewers.
To begin with, the Netflix drama arrived at the perfect moment in the pop-culture zeitgeist because it tapped into the growing interest in the serial killer/true crime genre. After viewing the likes of Making A Murderer and The Jinx, the story of two FBI agents that are tasked with interviewing serial killers to solve open cases seemed like a perfect fit.
Elsewhere, the show attracted some incredible directors with the likes of Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy) and Tobias Lindholm (A War, A Hijacking) working behind the lens. It also helps that Mindhunter is the brainchild of David Fincher, a man who’s the master of this genre having made the likes of Se7en, Gone Girl, and Zodiac.
However, it’s arguable the real draw of the serial killer drama was the cast because every single performance was understated, clinical, and note perfect.
In a show that details horrific murders and psychotic criminals, there’s no need for any ‘over the top’ acting because the main focus should always be on the crimes and the perpetrators.
On this note, the dynamic between Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) , Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) was excellent throughout but it was Cameron Britton’s Emmy-nominated turn as Edmund Kemper that provided the X-factor.
Unnerving, threatening, and oddly charismatic, Britton’s performance as the serial killer Edmund Kemper was superb and with Season 2 of the drama set to premiere this Friday, a new gallery of murderers is set to be introduced.
Thankfully, Edmund Kemper will be returning to help Agents Ford and Tench as they investigate the Atlanta child murders and meet killers like Dennis Rader, David Berkowitz, and Charles Manson.
In an interview with Jake Hamilton, Holt McCallany (Bill Tench) said that Damon Herriman’s performance as Charles Manson is just as good as anything that Britton did in Season 1.
“Every once in a while, the right actor meets the right role at the right time in the right project. It happened in Season 1 with Cameron Britton as Ed Kemper and he just hit a home run wight out of the park. It happens again this season with Damon Herriman as Charles Manson,” said McCallany.
This summer is a busy one for Herriman because he’s also playing Charles Manson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Season 2 of Mindhunter is available to watch on Netflix from 16 August.
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