Dexter: Original Sin Captures that Same Serial-Killing Magic: Review

After so many painful years with no Dexter, we are now in for a true Dexter renaissance. Showtime brought Dexter back to life in 2021 for Dexter: New Blood. They’re bringing him back to life again for the Summer 2025 series Dexter: Resurrection. And in between, we’re getting the Dexter prequel series Original Sin, featuring Patrick Gibson as Young Dexter while Michael C. Hall once more contributes the serial-killer-with-a-heart-of-gold’s inner voice. It is truly the boom times, for those who love Dexter. A multiplicity of Dexters. Dexter-palooza. The new Dexter cometh.

mThe first episode of Original Sin, streaming now on Paramount+ before its cable network premiere on Sunday, begins by confirming the information just mentioned in the previous paragraph: Contrary to what we might have thought at the end of New Blood, adult Dexter is still alive, though badly injured. While doctors work on him in the OR, that familiar voiceover kicks in, confirming that it’s true: in near-death situations, “your life flashes before your eyes.”

And thus, “And in the Beginning…” literally goes back to the very beginning — first, Dexter’s messy birth, then some fast-forwarding to 1991-era Dexter (Gibson), a pre-med college student who’s just about to graduate from college. However, those urges he’s been trying to quell his entire life aren’t satisfied by his first autopsy, and he’s desperate to find a way to handle the killer instinct within him.

Without getting into spoilers, by the end of the first episode, he’s not only come up with a solution, but his future path stretches out before him. Original Sin, you might guess, is largely consumed with set-up, as this first installment works hard to introduce most of the regular cast: This largely consists of younger versions of characters from the flagship series, including Molly Brown as Dexter’s still-foul-mouthed sister Debra, Christian Slater as his father Harry, and Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka, as inappropriate in the early 90s as he was in the 2000s.

Original Sin isn’t at all shy about trying to remind people of how much they might have liked the original show, especially if they watch with their eyes closed. For, sonically, you’ve got Hall’s distinctive voice-over (Gibson does not get the opportunity to narrate his own adventures, since this is still being presented as Dexter’s near-death experience to some degree) as well as a heavy reliance on the original series’ soundtrack: While composer Bill Irwin (who previously did the music for New Blood) is the composer here, Original Sin does use the original series’ main theme, with the credits nodding to “Additional Music by Daniel Licht.” Licht was the composer on all eight seasons of O.G. Dexter, but passed away in 2017, and his sonic legacy is definitely audible here.

When it’s not hearkening back to what was first established in 2006, the show doesn’t flinch from embracing its period setting: The soundtrack features notable cuts from Vanilla Ice and Naughty By Nature and the fashions are all very true to the time, without hitting you over the head with things. This even comes through in the opening credits, which retain the same premise (Dexter getting ready for his day) but remix things by including Deb and Harry) and infusing some vintage elements like telephone cords and mix tapes.

Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount+/Showtime)

As the younger Dexter, Gibson’s got both the physical resemblance as well as the mannerisms down — the polite exterior masking the inner rage. The biggest complaint one might have about the first episode is that it’s almost a prequel within a prequel, perhaps overcommitting to setting up all the details that longtime Dexter fans might have a hard time remembering. Then again, it has been a while; three years since New Blood aired, and 11 years since that poorly-received Season 8 finale that we all thought would be the end.

Of course, that’s not the way things work these days, as established brands get greenlights while original ideas struggle — hardly a new issue, but increasingly larger a concern. Literally, as I’ve been writing this review on Friday morning, news of both a Malcolm in the Middle revival featuring the original cast and a new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie with Jennifer Love Hewitt broke.

Few franchises better represent the corporate obsession with IP than Dexter — even during its original run, the Showtime series was a notorious example of a show that its parent network would not allow to end, even as the quality of the show itself declined. The bright side here is that while Original Sin isn’t exactly breaking new ground, it does recall enough of the first show’s visceral pleasures without feeling too tired. Also, while the premiere didn’t feature enough of Patrick Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar to get a good sense of their characters, it’ll be exciting to find out what they bring to the mix.

Ultimately, shows like Original Sin might be an inevitability of the current media landscape — and it does face the problem, like so many prequels before it, of a future where the fates of many characters are already written. Yet while it may be a bit inessential in the grand scheme of things, it does promise to deliver the same visceral thrills of the original show. Because yes, in Dexter’s glory days, it was quite entertaining to watch a serial killer serial-kill his way through the worst people Miami had to offer. Considering the vibes of our society today, Original Sin might be keeping that proud tradition alive, at the most apt time possible.

The first episode of Dexter: Original Sin is streaming now on Paramount+, and will air Sunday night on Showtime. Check out the trailer below.