Dexter Morgan might never die. He miraculously survived both “deaths” that would have taken anybody else out in the original Showtime series and his New Blood continuation. That second death also wasn’t followed by a “peekaboo” lumberjack surprise, and when New Blood ended, Showtime’s Gary Levine called Dexter’s grievous gunshot wounds “a profoundly powerful conclusion to our beloved and extraordinary series.”
So there? Then Dexter (again) became a streaming phenomenon on Netflix (Showtime sees you, too, Yellowjackets), and miraculously, both Dexter: Resurrection and a Dexter: Original Sin prequel were greenlit with original showrunner Clyde Phillips. We’re here today to dig into how the latter will flesh out the history that we’ve previously seen portrayed by a bewigged Michael C. Hall and Dominic James in the original show. Let’s get started.
Plot
“I am a killer. But I wasn’t born this way. By my history. By the people around me. They say it takes a village. To raise a killer.” That would be Michael C. Hall’s voice in a teaser trailer to prepare viewers for Dexter’s inner monologue, so that we’re not floating around in unfamiliar territory with a ^^^ younger Dexter (Patrick Gibson) who has much less hair than his predecessors. Presumably, being more aerodynamic won’t take his homicidal edge off.
The “I wasn’t born this way” utterance and the trailer’s zoom-ins on Dexter’s coworkers do make me wonder how much the prequel series will indulge the “born in blood” concept (due to Dexter witnessing his mother’s murder as a child). Still, the heavy presence of Harry Morgan (now portrayed by Christian Slater) suggests that there won’t be any tweaking of how dad helped him develop a Code after recognizing that Dexter’s Dark Passenger was onboard and needed to be at least guided rather than let loose.
Now, about those links to the future. Clearly, Hall’s voice will provide an aural link to Dexter, but Game Rant has noted a character of interest listed on IMDb for Original Sin. That would be “Iron Lake Doctor” (portrayed by Dante Myles), who hails from the upstate New York town where Dexter: New Blood took place. Does this mean that we will see a flash forward in time on this prequel? This hunch hasn’t been confirmed yet, so stay tuned there.
For now, we know that the prequel will be set in 1991 Miami with Dexter beginning to find footing in law enforcement. Behold the synopsis:
Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter (Patrick Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry (Christian Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcement’s radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.
Also, Wall Street Journal reported that Showtime is feeling out other spin offs, which could include the origin story of the Trinity Killer, long before he looked like John Lithgow. The Dexter universe is rapidly expending, indeed.
Cast
Showtime is pulling out the stops with this gathering of TV stars.
In addition to Hall as the inner monologue of Dexter Morgan and Patrick Gibson (The OA, Shadow And Bone) as younger Dexter, former McDreamy Patrick Dempsey will portray Aaron Spencer, captain of the Miami PD’s homicide division. Christian Slater is onboard as Dexter’s dad, Harry; and Molly Brown will portray Dexter’s sister, Debra.
Additionally, Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast as Dexter’s CSI boss, Tanya Martin, with James Martinez as younger Angel Batista (the “up-and-coming homicide detective who leads with his heart”).
Rounding out the cast are Christina Milian (as homicide detective Maria LaGuerta), Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka (the “forensic analyst who eagerly shares his expertise while relishing the chance to boss around his new intern, Dexter Morgan”), and Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt (Harry’s partner/confidante).
Release Date
Dexter: Original Sin will debut on Friday, Dec. 13 for subscribers of Paramount+ With Showtime. On linear programming, Showtime will debut the prequel series on Sunday, Dec. 15.
Trailer
Are you ready to go back to the beginning?