Now, is this necessary? Showtime made it known in early 2023 that it wanted to expand its “Dexter” franchise with a sequel to 2021’s “Dexter: New Blood,” but this, pun fully intended, is overkill. Before that spinoff, another one arrives: “Dexter: Original Sin,” a ten-episode prequel series that centers on a young serial killer-in-training Dexter Morgan in early ’90s Miami. The series will premiere on Paramount+ with Showtime.
READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2024
“Shadow And Bone” star Patrick Gibson will play young Dexter in the new series, with Christian Slater filling in for James Remar as his father, Harry. Molly Brown also stars as Dexter’s younger sister, Debra. “Dexter: Original Sin” follows Dexter in 1991 Miami as he transitions from student to serial killer, with Henry figuring out how Dexter might enact his Code and eliminate people who deserve to die without attracting too much attention from police. That’ll prove difficult, as Dexter needs to balance his talents as a serial killer with his new forensics internship at Miami Metro PD.
“Dexter” veteran Clyde Phillips returns as showrunner for “Dexter: Original Sin.” He’ll also serve as an executive producer. The upcoming prequel series will be a co-production between Showtime Studios and Counterpart Studios, with Robert Lloyd Lewis producing. Other EPs on the series include original star Michael C. Hall, Mary Leah Sutton, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, and Michael Lehmann. Gary Levine and Urooj Sharif oversee the series through Showtime, with Tara Power as production supervisor.
But after eight seasons of the original series and one spin-off that received only faintly positive praise from critics, is another “Dexter” series really what the world needs? The original “Dexter” was a smash hit for Showtime once upon a time (over fifteen years ago), but neither time nor audiences have been kind to it in retrospect. Only four or five of those eight seasons are high quality, and while “New Blood” gave Dexter Morgan a coda many wanted after the original series finale, many met that limited series with a shrug. The Playlist’s review of “New Blood” in 2021 gave it a C rating and the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is about the same at 77%.
So, again: is Showtime so desperate for new content that they’ll bleed the “Dexter” well completely dry? It’ll be curious to see if “Dexter: Original Sin” finds an audience when it premieres on streaming, likely in 2025. After all, didn’t TV move on from its favorite fictional serial killer a long time ago?