The 'best ever Netflix Original series' that has fans begging for follow up years later

Netflix has established itself as more than just a streaming platform with the major success of its many Netflix Original series and films, with hits such as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Narcos, just to name a few. Many of the platform's biggest shows continue to be in production, while others run their course, leaving fans wanting more. But, there's one particular series, often described as the best Netflix has ever developed, that was cut agonisingly short with viewers still clinging on to hope for one more season.

When Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron, who portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003's Monster, handed a nonfiction crime book to David Fincher, director of Fight Club, Seven and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, few could have guessed the eerily brilliant series that would follow. The book, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, was an account of retired FBI agent John E. Douglas, co-written by Mark Olshaker, detailing the former's experience with "criminal-personality profiling" for the Federal Bureau through interviewing some of the world's most notorious serial killers. Fincher and Theron would enlist playwright Joe Penhall to help put together Mindhunter, thus creating one of Netflix's most popular shows.

Mindhunter features many of the ominous tones found in David Fincher's previous works, but lingering across several hours and chopped into 50-minute episodes.

Nineteen episodes were created, focusing on two FBI agents who, during the 1970s, "broaden the realm of criminal science by investigating the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters," as IMDB puts it.

Horrifically accurate portrayals of real serial killers, such as Edmund Kemper, David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam), Charles Manson and others are dotted throughout as agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, along with psychologist Wendy Carr, try to piece together events in early life that could lead someone to kill.

Woven between most episodes are short cutaway scenes of an unknown character who slowly crescendos in harsher acts of violence and depravity, seemingly leading to being the focal point of the show's third season.

And that's where the issue begins with Mindhunter, as Netflix pulled the plug before this payoff, leaving fans and producers unfulfilled.

Despite critical acclaim, viewership numbers reportedly didn't justify the show's high production costs, while director Fincher cited the "gruelling and time-consuming" nature of the production for the show's abrupt pause in early 2020.

"I wanted to see something like Zodiac for a long time and couldn't find something, and then my friend suggested to watch this, and my mind is blown," One disappointed viewer posted to IMDB, adding, "David Fincher gives something that literally no other person could give...It's so good that I'm ready to beg Fincher to start its production ASAP."

User Besss-03418 adds in a 10-star review: "Well written, well cast, just well done. Why there isn't a 3rd season is beyond me."

Mindhunter holds an impressive 8.6 out of 10 star rating from more than 376,000 reviews on IMDB as well as 97% and 95% ratings from critics and audiences respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, with the constant drawback i reviews being its untimely end.

However, Holt McCallany, who portrayed Agent Tench, recently teased that a return may be on the way in the form of multiple movies.

Speaking ahead of the release of the latest Mission Impossible movie, the actor said: "So look, you know, I had a meeting with David Fincher in his office a few months ago, and he said to me that there is a chance that it may come back as three two-hour movies, but I think it's just a chance.

"I know there are writers that are working, but you know, David has to be happy with scripts."