'Dexter': What Year Does 'New Blood' Take Place In?

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Dexter fans have been wondering just when the series revival, New Blood, actually takes place and we now have our answer. It was previously reported that the new show would take place about a decade after the Dexter finale, which took place in late 2012 and aired in 2013. In one of the first scenes shown inside Dexter's cabin in New Blood Episode 1, a calendar is visible, revealing that the new series takes place in December 2021, so almost a full decade from where the story initially ended.

New Blood finds Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) now living in the fictional small town of Iron Lake — which is located in Upstate New York — and having assumed a new identity, Jim Lindsay. Trading in all his blood-splatter analyzing gear, Dexter, or Jim, is a sales associate at Fred's Fish & Game. Notably, Dexter's new moniker is likely a reference to Jeff Lindsay, the author who created Dexter in his award-winning novel series Darkly Dreaming Dexter. In addition to Hall, the new season stars Jennifer Carpenter, who played Dexter's sister Debra in the show's original run. 

It has also been announced that John Lithgow will be reprising his role as Arthur Miller, the Trinity Killer, in the new series. Dexter's son, Harrison, is back as well, this time played as a teenager by actor Jack Alcott (The Good Lord Bird). New cast members this time around include Clancy Brown (Billions) as Dexter's primary rival Kurt Caldwell, the unofficial mayor of Iron Lake. Jamie Chung (Lovecraft Country), Julia Jones (Goliath), and Alano Miller (Jane the Virgin) will also star.

The Dexter revival brings fans an opportunity to catch back up with the former Miami-based serial killer, who went away in a finale that has long been controversial among viewers. Hall has wanted to revisit the character over the years, but it wasn't until the New Blood storyline that he felt they'd finally found the perfect re-emergence for Dexter. "I've been approached, unofficially, many times in the streets by people who have ideas," the actor said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "But... I think there have been probably, before this, three legitimate ideas or concepts of what we might do, and none of them felt right."

"This one, a lot of it has to do with time passed," Hall continued. "This is going to happen in real-time as if as much time has passed since the finale happened. And yeah, we kind of just got the creative band back together again. Clyde Phillips is back, who was the showrunner for the first four seasons, running the show. And Marcos Siega, who is one of the directors. He's like, 'We're gonna shoot it like a long, 10-hour movie.' It was a combination of the scripts and the timing. I always thought maybe the time will reveal itself when it's the right time to do it and it did. And I'm excited. I was just visiting the sets the other day and it's real. It's really happening."

The first eight seasons of Dexter are streaming now on the Showtime app, which is available here with a free trial for new users. New Blood debuted Nov. 7 and will also be available on the Showtime app the following day. New episodes will air Sundays, with each made available for next-day streaming.

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