Dakota and Elle Fanning to Produce Hulu Docuseries ‘Mastermind,’ Based on Real-Life Detective Who Inspired ‘Mindhunter’

Dakota and Elle Fanning will produce the docuseries “Mastermind,” about Dr. Ann Burgess of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, Hulu announced on Friday. The sisters’ Lewellen Pictures teams with Campfire Studios for the true-crime project.

Burgess spent her career interviewing and studying convicted serial killers, gleaning insight to apply to unsolved cases. She revolutionized the way law enforcement investigates serial killers and was the architect of the FBI’s “mindhunter” method, as shown in David Fincher’s Netflix series of the same name. Anna Torv starred in the show as the Burgess-inspired character Wendy Carr.

“Mastermind” will draw from Burgess’ 2021 book “A Killer by Design: Murders, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher Criminal Minds,” and exclusive access to her personal records. The docuseries will tell the story of her defining cases as well as shed light on the often-forgotten anti-rape movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s.

Here’s the logline: Hulu’s “Mastermind” tells the harrowing stories of infamous criminal cases through the unique lens of the woman who helped solve them, famed nurse researcher and longtime FBI consultant Dr. Ann Burgess, who spent her nearly six-decade career hunting serial killers and advocating for justice.

“Mastermind” is produced for Hulu by Campfire Studios in association with Lewellen Pictures. Executive producers are Ross M. Dinerstein, Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Rebecca Halpern, Lesley Chilcott, Rebecca Evans and Abby Fuller. Co-executive producers are Dani Sloane, Ross Girard, and Mark McCune. Dr. Ann Burgess is a consulting producer.