I really liked the first season of "Mindhunters" on Netflix. It wasn't the police procedural I was initial expecting (and ready to get bored of and drop after a couple of episodes). It was a slow burning adult story about the birth of psychological profiling within the FBI. This was done by interviews with murderers to try and get behind their motivations. Though this second series was still good, I felt it suffered somewhat in comparison.
Holden (Jonathan Groff), Bill (Holt McCallany) and Wendy (Anna Torv) are still working in the basement at Quantico but a change in management sees them suddenly fully funded and their techniques planned to become standard within the FBI. However, that faith comes with consequences as the bureau need results, so the agents are sent to Atalanta to investigate the deaths of dozens of children in the city. This comes at a bad time for Bill, as a shocking development in his personal life means that the needs to be home as much as possible.
And it's really those additional aspects to this series that took away from my enjoyment somewhat. The first half of the season, with interviewing a few more convicted killers, including Charlie Manson and David Berkowitz is interesting. Once they become embroiled in the Atlanta murders, though it's a fine recreation, it starts to feel a little like just another police drama. As well as dragging the agents away from what I liked to see them do, it also dragged them away from Wendy, so Anna Torv only really features in a subplot this season about her personal life - which she's great in, but I'm not sure really what the point was. (I felt that there might be more in the homosexuality is not a perversion discussion, but unless that's in season three, we don't really get there). I did even end up wondering whether Torv had filming commitments elsewhere, which meant that she couldn't be in the story as much this time. Speaking of their personal lives, I also didn't particularly like the subplot with Bill's family, and not necessarily just the content of that storyline - more that it again took time away from the interaction between he and Holden.
I still enjoy the series, and hope that a third will be possible - I'd prefer it to focus more on the work though.