Mindhunter challenges the TV cliche about "charismatic" serial killers

Why are serial killers such popular subjects for TV shows? More than popular – why is so much of the best TV about these most disturbing inhabitants of the criminal landscape?

The new Netflix show Mindhunter positions itself as a whole new take on the serial killer milieu by focusing on the early days of the FBI's explorations of psychological profiles of murderers. The protagonists are busy revolutionising criminology in the 1970s by seeking a kind of empathy with homicidal maniacs, completing an elegant circle: real-life profilers inspire TV shows, which lead eventually to a TV show about the real-life profilers.

There have already been shows about the FBI's attempts to get inside the heads of serial killers, ranging from the generic – Criminal Minds and its slightly darker take on CSI-esque escapades – to the surrealist: the arty nightmare-scapes of Hannibal, the show that made gore-happy sadism far too beautiful for anyone to feel all that comfortable.

Both of these shows, while vastly different in approach and aesthetic, held fast to the tele-friendly view of serial killers: fascinating creatures, either disarmingly charismatic or flamboyantly unhinged, with clearly traceable motivations.

The muddier, more banal nature of real-life monsters isn't as easily adapted to cracking storytelling, though it's that reality which Mindhunter seeks to depict. Whether hewing close to fact or spinning off into fantasy, though, the killerverse is founded on a solid principle: it's fun to get inside the head of a psycho, as long as you can get back out when the credits roll.

Just look at Dexter, which for several seasons – some say four, some say five or six, nobody says eight – created true TV magic out of the idea of serial killer as superhero. A great idea for TV, not so great for real life, but then that's true of every show: look at Peppa Pig.