Netflix’s ginormous budgets for big series (think Stranger Things) and “auteur as Robin Hood” fare (think The Irishman) aren’t a sure thing for all of the streamer’s projects, says one showrunner. According to David Fincher, executive producer and director of the show Mindhunter, the fan favorite was too expensive for Netflix to move forward with a third season. “I’m very proud of the first two seasons,” he told Le Journal du dimanche, per Forbes. “But it’s a very expensive show, and in the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment” for season three. That doesn’t mean the Mank director has any hard feelings, though. “I don’t blame them. 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,” he said, referring to his upcoming action-thriller starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender. “It’s a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.” While Fincher can be a bigger person about financial realities (“The day our desires are not the same, we have to be honest about parting ways,” he told the French paper magnanimously), we’re sure fans holding out hope will be gutted to hear the additional confirmation — Mindhunter actors were released from their contracts back in 2020 — that the third season was just one big pipe dream.
