The Crime K-Drama That's Perfect For Fans Of Netflix's Mindhunter

"Mindhunter" is one of Netflix's most popular and acclaimed original series, as fans are still holding out hope that the psychological crime thriller will get a season 3. While executive producer and director David Fincher has cast doubt on these prospects, there are plenty of similar thrillers to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. One genre that K-dramas, aka South Korean scripted television programming, are particularly prolific in are crime thrillers. And one K-drama that stands above the rest as being notably thematically and tonally similar to "Mindhunter" is "Stranger" (which, just like the Netflix series, premiered in 2017).

Also known as "The Forest of Secrets" in some territories, "Stranger" has criminal prosecutor Hwang Si-mok (Cho Seung-woo) team up with police detective Han Yeo-jin (Bae Doona) for an investigation. As the pair look into a grisly murder, they discover the case involves deep corruption within the prosecutors' office and an unscrupulous business conglomerate (or chaebol). As a unique wrinkle in their partnership, Si-mok was left unable to feel basic empathy after undergoing surgery to correct his hypersensitivity to sound, impacting his social awareness. "Stranger" received a second season in 2020 along with a spin-off in 2024 titled "Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard," which follows a different criminal prosecutor.

Apart from both shows being crime procedurals, there are also some thematic links between "Stranger" and "Mindhunter" that audiences will appreciate.

Though there are countless K-drama crime thrillers, "Stranger" is immaculately constructed; it doesn't so much reinvent the genre wheel as it refines it instead. Both the K-drama and "Mindhunter" are dark looks at society through the perspective of a pair of investigators pursuing a serial killer. The social commentary is a bit more pronounced in "Stranger," though, particularly its indictment of corporate malfeasance and an ineffectual criminal justice system. And K-drama fans will likely recognize Bae Doona from her compelling performance in the horror series "Kingdom," with the actor doing excellent work here as well.

Admittedly, "Stranger" does feature more prominent action than "Mindhunter," with the American show leaning heavily into the psychological aspects of a criminal investigation. But both series have a cinematic quality to them that elevates each of them above the rank-and-file crime procedurals flooding the airwaves in the U.S. and South Korea alike. The two shows also recognize a crime series is only as strong and effective as its central partnership, with the shows' respective main characters expertly playing off one another. It's that key pairing that guides the viewer into the mounting dread of a serial killer story, and both series handle that dynamic masterfully.

Like "Mindhunter," "Stranger" is currently available to stream on Netflix as part of the growing library of K-dramas on the streaming service. After a rewatch of the American crime thriller, maybe consider binge-watching its South Korean counterpart.