Five Reasons To Watch Dexter: Original Sin

Dexter Morgan hooked audiences immediately: first as a character in the series of crime novels by Jeff Lindsay, and then with Michael C Hall’s brilliantly realised anti-hero across eight seasons of the unconventional TV thriller. Now, the serial killer who hunts serial killers is returning as a young man at the start of his murderous journey, in prequel series Dexter: Original Sin, all fresh-faced at the age of 20.

Driven by a lifelong urge to kill, college-aged Dexter is trained by his cop father to succumb to that temptation only in service of removing a proper monster from the world. In other words, only kill those who truly deserve it – and who have otherwise escaped justice. That means working from the inside in the Miami Metro Police Department, and studying forensics to learn how to literally get away with murder.

Whether you’re a newcomer or a longtime Dexter fan, here are five reasons not to miss this gripping new spin-off.

We’re going back to the early 1990s

Original Sin kicks off 15 years before the first Dexter television saga began. Viewers see Dexter fresh out of his teens – a section of the character’s life only glimpsed in fleeting flashbacks in the original series. It also means we get retro fashion and a backdrop of Miami circa 1991. Irish actor Patrick Gibson (The Tudors, The OA) stars as 20-year-old Dexter, honing his craft as an avenging angel while scratching his inner itch to kill – and trying not to get caught in the process. When he lands a forensics internship at Miami Metro Homicide, the stage is set for him to learn the tricks of the trade from within law enforcement.

Eighties pop culture icons join the cast

Young Dexter’s relationship with his father – who is seen mostly in his imagination in the original series – is a central storyline in this prequel. Playing his police officer father, Harry Morgan, is Heathers star Christian Slater – but he’s not the only icon of ’80s and ’90s pop culture who’s been called in. Buffy herself, aka Sarah Michelle Gellar, will play Dexter’s boss in the CSI department, while Patrick Dempsey will co-star as a homicide captain. And certain key figures from the first series have been recast to fit their younger versions. That includes the roles of Dexter’s colleagues Angel Batista, Maria LaGuerta and Vince Masuka, and of course his precocious sister Debra.

A very familiar voice returns

If you didn’t catch (or simply miss) Michael C Hall’s reprisal of the role in the 2021 sequel series New Blood, the original Dexter star is returning to voice the character’s inner monologue with his soothing and eerily calm commentary. Plus, another Dexter series, subtitled Resurrection, has been teased for a mid-2025 release, so this is a clever way to keep Hall firmly in the fold while audiences wait.

Find out Dexter is alive

Though Original Sin is a prequel to the first series, it uses present-day Dexter – where New Blood left off – as a way into the story. Fans may have thought the titular character had died – bleeding out in the snow – but the new series’s trailer teases (and confirms) that he is in fact alive and rushed to hospital. The trailer reveals Dexter having flashbacks of his life – is the entire series narrated through his memories? How is he alive? You’ll need to keep watching to find out.

The return of the killer we’re rooting for

When Dexter premiered in 2006, the closest reference point for a magnetic serial killer was arguably Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. Hall’s performance took the trope to new heights, and since, we’ve seen plenty of relatable, almost lovable murderers on our screens: there’s Netflix series Ripley, David Fincher's thriller The Killer, even Walter White in Breaking Bad. Original Sin, though, heralds the return of one of the genre’s most influential – and best – creations.

Dexter: Original Sin is streaming December 13, only on Paramount+.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Paramount+.