Dexter: Resurrection is as apt a title for a television revival as there could be, because this franchise refuses to die! After many false starts, Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 is the latest attempt to put the franchise back on the map. Based on the Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay, the original run of Dexter on Showtime centered on Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a forensic blood-spatter analyst for the Miami-Metro police department who moonlights as a serial killer of, wait for it, killers.
Following a creative shake-up and an ill-received finale, the original showrunner Clyde Phillips returned for the generally well-liked Dexter: New Blood, which closed the book on Dexter’s story for good in polarizing fashion, or so it seemed. One surprisingly great prequel in Dexter: Original Sin later, the Dexter franchise proper has once again, er, resurrected, only this time with a more confident foot forward.
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Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 is a huge project for the franchise, moving to New York City for a campy, fan service-heavy, and very fun outing that charts a new course for the franchise. While its silly tone might turn off the faithful, those willing to accept this new direction are in for a bloody good time.
Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 swings into fan service territory and embraces a fun new course.
After the events of Dexter: New Blood, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) evades both death and arrest, taking to the Big Apple to start a new life. Trying to keep his head down as a rideshare driver, his instincts take over when he can’t stop himself from taking down a serial killer known as the “Dark Passenger”, the same name for his compulsion to kill. His murder of the Dark Passenger leads to his discovery of a secret society of serial killers “collected” by venture capitalist Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage).
Seeing an ample opportunity, Dexter goes undercover into this secret society as the Dark Passenger, planning to take the serial killers down one-by-one. His plan is complicated when he discovers his estranged son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), is living in NYC. Trying to rebuild his relationship with an evasive Harrison, Dexter will face another roadblock when his former colleague Angel Batista (David Zayas) starts on his trail.
Old habits die hard, so it’s refreshing that Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 charts new territory. Michael C. Hall is still terrific in the lead role, but this Dexter feels different. He’s still the monotone, calculated killer we all know and love, with the hallucination of his father, played by a returning James Remar (The Odyssey, IT: Welcome to Derry), acting as the angel on his shoulder.
Only this time Dexter feels at peace with his compulsion, his public and private personas reconciled in a way. The stuff with him trying to connect with his son – played by a much-improved Jack Alcott – is genuinely sweet and shows a humanity that I couldn’t imagine Dexter having in the past.
The Dexter viewers meet in this series is one more at peace with his murderous instincts.
With a lot of the internal struggle gone, the show is open to really have some fun with it. Throughout Dexter: Resurrection Season 1, there’s a ton of campy grandeur as Dexter picks through each of these serial killers one by one, like a superhero taking on their rogues’ gallery.
And what a rogues’ gallery it is, with big names like Krysten Ritter (Daredevil: Born Again Season 2), David Dastmalchian (Late Night With The Devil), Neil Patrick Harris, and Uma Thurman filling out the ranks. The big bad, Leon Prater, is a wonderfully over-the-top driving force of the show, and Peter Dinklage (The Toxic Avenger) relishes the opportunity to play a twisted collector of killers.
Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 moves at a breakneck pace, with Dexter bouncing from target to target while also making time for standout new supporting characters like off-kilter NYPD detective Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) and Dexter’s kindhearted landlord Blessing Kamara (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). It’s slick, stylish stuff that turns the original series’ arch undertones into overtones. What’s missing, however, is the pathos of the original, with the show essentially wanting us to cheer for Dexter’s antics.
With its speedy pace and embrace of camp, it is a fun ride, though it lacks the pathos that challenged Dexter.
The storyline with David Zayas as Angel Batista does a bit to try and reinstill that element, to notable success, yet it feels like a much smaller part of the show than it should be. Nevertheless, Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 is still concerned with celebrating the show’s history, if not fully recreating its tone.
You’re not gonna get the heavy psycho-drama of the original series or hear too many musical cues from the late, great Daniel Licht (there’s a surprising amount of licensed music here), yet there’ll be plenty of cameos and nods to the show’s extensive history that will reward those who have kept up for this long.
Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 is an evolution. Whereas too many shows hit the same beats for too long, Dexter: Resurrection charts a new course. This course is a fun, star-studded, brisk affair that somehow makes a Dexter blockbuster work. Dexter: Resurrection is an apt title not only because the show has refused to stay dead, but because it’s been given surprising new life that’ll keep it going for a good while.
Dexter: Resurrection Season 1 is now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime. Season 2 premieres October 30, 2026.
Rating
Dexter: Resurrection is an apt title not only because the show has refused to stay dead, but because it’s been given surprising new life that’ll keep it going for a good while.
