It’s a bold time to reintroduce pop culture’s most infamous extrajudicial killer, but Dexter has returned with an origin story, Original Sin. The series, however, is framed by the “resurrection” of present-day Dexter (Michael C. Hall), left for dead at the end of the sequel series New Blood two years ago. Now, he’s been brought back (for Summer 2025’s Dexter: Resurrection) and is recounting the life that flashed before his eyes after his son, Harrison, attempted to kill him.

 

The timeline jumps to Miami circa 2000, where a young Dexter (Patrick Gibson) is about to graduate college and begin medical school. He’s the top pre-med student in his class but also a loner with urges only his father, Harry (Christian Slater), understands. Harry, a cop, works in a department led by Captain Spencer (a moustachioed Patrick Dempsey with a grey streak) and blood-spatter expert Tanya Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar), investigating a string of connected grisly murders.

 

Dexter hasn’t yet decided on his future in blood-spatter analysis, but during a campus job fair, he impresses Masuka (Alex Shimizu) with a quick deduction based on spatter patterns in two photographs. This moment sets him on a path toward an internship with the department by the episode’s end.

Meanwhile, Dexter grapples with his foul-mouthed sister, Deb (Molly Brown), and his father’s sudden heart attack. What should have been a minor incident turns deadly, thanks to a nurse with her own dark inclinations. What transpires over the course of the episode marks the birth of the Dexter we’ve come to know.

Narrated by Michael C. Hall, the pilot doesn’t establish what will likely become a season-long arc (or the big bad, who I guess will either be Dempsey or Sarah Michelle Gellar) but effectively reintroduces the character while fleshing out his backstory. Clyde Phillips, the showrunner of the first four uneven yet memorable seasons of the original, returns with the lighter tone and cheeky dark humour that defined early Dexter. Michael Lehman, who directed Christian Slater in Heathers, helms the pilot, giving it a distinct late-’80s/early-’90s vibe.

 

For fans who’ve endured the highs and lows of Dexter, the pilot mostly works. Some characters, particularly Masuka and Angel, feel a bit too Muppet Babies-ish, and Dexter’s wig throughout the episode is downright laughable. Still, it’s entertaining, even if it leans heavily on fan service early on. There are no surprises or revelations here, just the comfort of the familiar. It’s enjoyable, but I do hope the series pushes beyond nostalgia as it progresses through the season and builds toward next summer’s Resurrection.

 

Boluwatife Adesina
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Boluwatife Adesina is a media writer and the helmer of the Downtown Review page. He’s probably in a cinema near you.