Dexter: New Blood won’t continue, but Showtime is considering a prequel series

If you haven’t watched Dexter: New Blood, there will be spoilers. Eight years after Dexter concluded, Showtime brought the Michael C. Hall series back for Dexter: New Blood. The series was conceived as a limited series, but its success led to the network considering a second season. TVLine has heard that Dexter: New Blood won’t continue, but that Showtime is considering a Dexter prequel series instead.

Showrunner Clyde Phillips wanted to use Dexter: New Blood as an opportunity to set things right and conclude Dexter’s story in a more satisfactory manner. The limited series found the serial killer with a heart of gold reuniting with his son Harrison (Jack Alcott). While attempting to bond with his now grown-up child, they begin investigating a sinister killer hiding in plain sight in their small town. The finale found Dexter breaking his own code by killing an innocent man and allowing his son to kill him in turn. The initial concept, which was apparently in development, would have found Harrison picking up where Dexter left off. While a second season of Dexter: New Blood is off the table, the potential prequel series would be centered on a young version of the character. We did see plenty of flashbacks to Dexter’s younger years in the main series, but Showtime clearly believes there could be more story to tell.

When Dexter: New Blood concluded a year ago, Clyde Phillips said that he was open to more Dexter, whether it be a Harrison spinoff or something else. “There’s a lot I’d like to explore. I don’t have permission yet from Showtime to explore it,” Phillips said. “But if they were to call — much like Gary Levine called to do what became New Blood — and say we want to do Harrison, I’d drop everything and say yes in a minute.” Phillips continued, “We’re talking about a hypothetical show here. My instinct is maybe once just to charge up Harrison and charge up the audience, or maybe never. It’s either the best idea in the world or the most obvious idea in the world. If Showtime says yes and I can put together a writing room, that’s a question I’ll bring up to them. Right now, I just don’t know.“

Would you like to see a Dexter prequel series, or should New Blood stand as the end of the franchise?