The Netflix series – which is set in 1970s America – follows FBI Agent Ford (Jonathan Groff) and his colleague (Holt McCallany), both of whom specialise in understanding the minds of murderers.

As a pioneer of this disturbing field, Agent Ford interviews psychopaths in a bid to get inside their heads and predict their next moves. His approach appears to be full of humility: a unique method at a time when the term ‘serial killer’ is just being coined.

Ford’s persistence to get close to these criminals makes for scenes that are the perfectly skin-crawling mix of hard to watch, and equally hard to look away from.

This is immediately made clear in the series trailer, which warns us: “It’s not easy butchering people, it’s hard work – physically and mentally.

“I don’t think people realise… you need to vent.”

Charlize Theron’s new Netflix series explores the minds of serial killers