Dexter: Original Sin tells stories in two timelines, is packed with Easter eggs

The crime drama series Dexter originally aired on Showtime for eight seasons, from 2006 to 2013, then it was revived with a season called Dexter: New Blood in 2021, and now a prequel series called Dexter: Original Sin is set to begin airing on the Paramount+ streaming service as of today, December 13th, with the Showtime premiere to follow on December 15th. To celebrate the premiere, The Hollywood Reporter has dropped some SPOILERS… so if you want to avoid those, turn away!

Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter in 1991 Miami, as a student transitioning into a serial killer in training. When his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter finds solace and understanding in Harry. As his only confidant, he teaches Dexter a Code that’s designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to die—all while avoiding getting caught by law enforcement. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

Played by Michael C. Hall in the nine seasons of Dexter, the title character is “a serial killer with a code which directs his compulsions to kill only the guilty. As a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police, he has access to crime scenes, picking up clues and checking DNA to confirm a target’s guilt before he kills them.“ Hall will be narrating this prequel series.

This was given away in the marketing, but Hall is able to narrate the show because Dexter has survived the last moments of Dexter: New Blood, paving the way for the upcoming sequel series Dexter: Resurrection. There have been two attempts to end the show and fans hated both of them, so showrunner Clyde Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter that, “When I wrote that [New Blood] finale — which was the most-watched single episode in the history of Showtime, by the way — the internet went insane over it. Because they loved Dexter so much and they love Michael Hall so much. I wanted to take out ads at the time that said: ‘I only had Michael Hall for one year.’ Back when we did New Blood, I only had him for one year. I didn’t want him going off to prison or disappearing into the fog or any of that business [in the finale], so I decided to be bold about it. The internet hated it. Michael came back to me and said, ‘You know what, Dexter’s in my bones; Dexter’s in your bones, Clyde. Let’s keep going. Can you figure out a way to make it happen?’ And I did. As we will learn at the beginning of Resurrection, if Dexter had been shot on a summer’s day, he would have died. But he was shot in zero-degree temperature in the snow. He didn’t bleed out and they were able to save him. That’s how we were able to resurrect him.“

While the idea is that Dexter: Original Sin is life flashing before Dexter’s eyes when he’s on the brink of death, it won’t just be following the title character through 1991. There are stories playing out in two separate timelines: 1991 and 1973. The ’73 scenes follow Dexter’s foster father Harry (played by Christian Slater) as he works the case that led him to the young Dexter. Phillips said, “That 1973 story bolsters the information of what goes on in the 1991 part of the show.” And it will reveal information on Harry that Dexter never even knew.

Since this is an origin story, it will be accessible to new viewers… but established Dexter fans will have a whole different viewing experience. Phillips explained, “We had this canon of lore from nine seasons of the show from which to draw and, if people like Easter eggs, this show is going to be an Easter egg hunt. We would write the shows, start shooting them and someone would come in and say, ‘I have this great story about an Easter egg,’ and we would run down to set and put a picture on somebody’s desk or whatever it is that the fans are just going to love.“

Phillips has said that Dexter: Resurrection will premiere in June of 2025 – and the hope is that Dexter: Resurrection and Dexter: Original Sin will both receive multiple seasons, with a season of one being followed closely by a season of the other, keeping different versions of Dexter on Showtime throughout the year.

Will you be watching Dexter: Resurrection and Dexter: Original Sin? Let us know by leaving a comment below.