'Dexter' Prequel Eyed at Showtime

Dexter: New Blood proved people still love the fictional serial killer, and it was seen my many as a successful course correction after the original show's controversial original final season. However, instead of continuing the story, Showtime is instead going back in time. The premium cable network, which will soon be rebranded "Paramount+ With Showtime," is considering a Dexter prequel series.

The follow-up to Dexter: New Blood was in development, reports TVLine. It would have seen Jack Alcott returning to the role of Harrison Morgan, who would keep his father's murdering ways alive. Although the January 2022 New Blood finale was an effective end to the main Dexter story, the eye-popping ratings for the 10-episode series proved Dexter still has a loyal fanbase. New Blood averaged 8 million weekly viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched show in Showtime's history.

Insiders told TVLine that Showtime is looking at "a number of new iterations" of Dexter. One of these could be a prequel series, following a young Dexter Morgan. Meanwhile, Deadline is reporting that there have only been "talks" about expanding the Dexter-verse. Nothing, including the idea of a prequel, is solid at this time. Showtime and Paramount+ have not commented on the reports.

Dexter was developed by James Manos Jr. and is based on the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Michael C. Hall played the title character, a serial killer who becomes a forensic scientist to hide his murders. The show grew to become Showtime's most popular drama, although the original finale was controversial among critics and fans. In 2021, New Blood debuted to widespread critical acclaim. During the original run, Hall earned five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, while John Lithgow won for his guest performance in 2010.

After New Blood ended, showrunner Clyde Phillips told TVLine that the show's future was up to Showtime. "If they were to call me and say, 'We want to do [a second season], we want you to figure it out,' I'm pretty busy, but I would drop everything I'm doing and jump right into it," Phillips said. "I would love to do it, but it's really up to Showtime."

Paramount Global announced plans to finally bring Showtime content to Paramount+ this year. The network will be rebranded as Paramount+ with Showtime, and Showtime shows will be available to Paramount+ premium subscribers. After the merger details were unveiled, Showtime canceled Let The Right One In, American Gigolo, and Three Women (which never aired, but was completed). Several short-lived shows were also wiped from Showtime's streaming platform, including Jim Carrey's Kidding and Kirsten Dunst's On Becoming a God in Central Florida.