If you loved Mindhunter, this Kdrama should be next on your list

Netflix’s psychological crime thriller, Mindhunter, is still one of its most popular shows. It premiered on October 13, 2017, and revolves around the story of two FBI agents who begin to interview serial killers to research and understand their psyches, which could help in capturing them.

The show ran for two seasons and depicted numerous serial killers and their distorted psychology toward human life, demonstrating how different they think from other human beings to the viewers. The David Fincher-led series was not renewed for Season 3, which left the fans wanting more. While Mindhunter might not be coming back, thriller K-drama, Through the Darkness, might be the next best option for fans of the gritty American psychological thriller.

Like the Jonathan Groff-starring series, this K-drama also follows an antisocial criminal profiler who interviews serial killers to understand their psychology.

More on this in our story.

Similar premise of Mindhunter and Through the Darkness

In Mindhunter, Jonathan Groff stars as Agent Holden, accompanied by a senior agent, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), who works for the Behavioural Science Unit of the FBI, and conducts interviews with serial killers across the country to understand their psychology. The K-drama, Through the Darkness, also follows the same premise, where Kim Nam-gil’s Song Ha-young is a criminal profiler at the Behavioural Analysis Unit at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Like Holden, Ha-young is also accompanied by his senior Gook Young-soo, played by popular South Korean actor Jin Seon-kyu. The duo also interviews serial killers to understand the psychology behind their thought process and motive for committing crimes.

However, the similarity does not end with the premise of both psychological thriller series. Mindhunter is based on special agent John E. Douglas’s real-life accounts with the serial killers as written in the true crime book, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, which is co-authored by Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Similarly, the K-drama is also inspired by the novel, Those Who Read the Minds of Evil, written by Ko Na-mu and South Korea’s first criminal profiler, Kwon Il-yong.

Both books talk about the profiler's experience with serial killers in the field during their service time. This is adapted in their respective shows, suggesting a thematic similarity. While no reports suggest Il-yong was inspired by Douglas’ true crime novel, the series uses the novel in a very proficient way.

When Young-soo sees Ha-young’s potential and asks him to join his newly built unit, he initially refuses, as the method does not align with their current investigative methods, where evidence was believed to be the key. Young-soo then gives Ha-young Douglas’ novel, Mindhunter. As the series progresses, we see glimpses of the book several times in addition to Ha-young employing the interrogative method of Douglas, making him similar to Groff’s Holden.

More about Mindhunter and Through the Darkness

Apart from the subject matter that is similar in both crime thriller shows, the characters are also quite similar. With Ha-young being the antisocial profiler like Holden, and Young-soo being the voice of reason at times, who took care of Ha-young when he went too far to catch a killer, just like Bill was for Holden.

However, Through the Darkness departs from Mindhunter in its approach: in Mindhunter, Holden is obsessed with learning the inner workings of a serial killer's mind; on the other hand, in Through the Darkness, the curiosity stems from Ha-Young's emotional past. While Holden’s obsession makes him appear stoic and apathetic at times, his focus is just on the killers, while Ha-young’s drive to unearth the killers is due to his empathy towards the victims.

With just 12 episodes, the K-drama could definitely be your next watch if you loved the Netflix thriller series.

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