# Dexter: New Blood

Dexter: New Blood is an American crime drama mystery television miniseries developed for Showtime as a continuation of the series Dexter, developed by original series showrunner, Clyde Phillips, and directed by Marcos Siega. The show features Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter reprising their roles as Dexter and Debra Morgan, respectively, alongside new cast members Jack Alcott, Julia Jones, Johnny Sequoyah, Alano Miller, and Clancy Brown. The story is set ten years after the events of the original series finale, "Remember the Monsters?", which was broadcast in 2013. It aired on Showtime from November 7, 2021 to January 9, 2022.
The series was followed by Dexter: Original Sin in 2024, a prequel series with a frame story picking up from the final scene of New Blood, and a sequel series, Dexter: Resurrection.

## Premise

After faking his death ten years ago in a hurricane, Dexter Morgan has moved to the fictional small town of Iron Lake, New York, hiding his identity under the name of Jim Lindsay, a clerk at a local wilderness sporting gear store. He has a romantic relationship with the town's chief of police, Angela Bishop, and has been successfully suppressing his vigilante serial killing urges. Dexter's deceased sister, Debra, is an imaginary presence he often speaks to.
In the first episode, Dexter's estranged son from his previous life, Harrison Morgan, arrives unannounced with mysterious motives. A string of incidents around Iron Lake causes Dexter to fear that the "Dark Passenger" within him, and potentially within his son, will reveal itself.

## Cast
### Main

* Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan / Jim Lindsay
* Jack Alcott as Harrison Morgan
* Julia Jones as Police Chief Angela Bishop
* Johnny Sequoyah as Audrey Bishop
* Alano Miller as Sergeant Logan
* Jennifer Carpenter as Debra Morgan
* Clancy Brown as Kurt Caldwell

### Special guest stars

* David Zayas as Angel Batista
* John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell / Trinity Killer

### Recurring

* David Magidoff as Teddy Reed
* Katy Sullivan as Esther
* Michael Cyril Creighton as Fred Jr.
* Gizel Jiménez as Tess
* Gregory Cruz as Abraham Brown
* Jamie Chung as Molly Park
* Shuler Hensley as Elric

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Cold Snap" | Marcos Siega | Teleplay by : Clyde Phillips Story by : Clyde Phillips and Adam Rapp | November 7, 2021 (2021-11-07) | 0.678 |
| After leaving Miami, Dexter is living in a small rural town in upstate New York under the assumed name Jim Lindsay. He works at a local outdoor and gun shop and is dating police chief Angela Bishop. Dexter maintains a rigorous daily workout routine to control his homicidal urges, while heeding advice from the ghost of his sister Debra, whom he sees in his mind. Dexter's routine is shattered when his son, Harrison, finds him, and a reckless local named Matt Caldwell pushes Dexter to sell him a high-end hunting rifle. Dexter learns Caldwell once ran his powerboat into another craft, killing five people. While it was reported as an accident, Caldwell's friend assures Dexter the act was intentional. When Caldwell illegally shoots a white deer that Dexter frequently sees during his daily excursions, Dexter's "Dark Passenger" begins to resurface. ||||||
| 2 | "Storm of Fuck" | Marcos Siega | Warren Hsu Leonard | November 14, 2021 (2021-11-14) | 0.560 |
| Dexter tries to take on the role of father to his son Harrison. Harrison tells Dexter that Hannah McKay died from pancreatic cancer 3 years earlier, leaving Harrison in the foster care system. Dexter works to ensure that his first kill in 10 years, Matt Caldwell, remains undiscovered. Throughout the episode, the homeless girl from the previous episode is seen in a room by herself. There's a camera in the room, and she realizes that she's being watched after a night of drinking by herself, and she discovers a writing seemingly in blood next to the camera: "You're already dead." ||||||
| 3 | "Smoke Signals" | Sanford Bookstaver | David McMillan | November 21, 2021 (2021-11-21) | 0.325 |
| Dexter is forced to move Matt's body after learning that Chief Bishop is bringing in a dog team. The unknown killer who abducted the homeless girl shoots her down after allowing her to escape from a bunker. Dexter sees a tipsy Kurt enjoying the snow and, finding it suspicious, inquires about it and offers to drop him home. Kurt says he is relieved because his son just video-called him. Harrison begins school and befriends a classmate who is being bullied, later thwarting the bully's attack by grabbing him by his throat. Dexter assures Debra that his latest killing is a "one and done", as he wants to focus on being a good father. ||||||
| 4 | "H Is for Hero" | Sanford Bookstaver | Tony Saltzman | November 28, 2021 (2021-11-28) | 0.460 |
| Dexter rushes to school after everyone in town learns there was an incident. Harrison tells Dexter and Sheriff Angela that Ethan stabbed him with a knife after Harrison tried to dissuade Ethan from a school shooting he had planned. Harrison then supposedly took the knife from Ethan and cut Ethan's leg, but Dexter returns after school hours and deduces from the blood spatter at the crime scene that Ethan was innocent and Harrison attacked him first. Crime podcaster Molly Park offers to assist Sheriff Angela in helping her find out what happened to the missing girls in the area. Angela tells Molly she became a cop after the disappearance of her childhood friend, Iris. Kurt meets a homeless girl in a diner, and later takes her to the cabin where the sniper kills his victims. ||||||
| 5 | "Runaway" | Marcos Siega | Veronica West | December 5, 2021 (2021-12-05) | 0.549 |
| Harrison goes to a party with other students where he consumes party drugs, overdosing after one was laced with fentanyl. Dexter plans to kill the dealer who supplied the drugs, but Logan arrives before Dexter can sedate him. He discovers the identity of the person who makes the pills, who he plans to kill, but is forced to improvise on the table after being interrupted by Logan; Dexter instead forces him to snort pure fentanyl powder, causing an overdose. Kurt brings the homeless girl to his place. She refuses to play into Kurt's plan; instead she runs at Kurt who is then forced to shoot her in the eye, making him frustrated. Angela and Molly visit New York City where they learn Matt didn't check into the hotel, and Kurt lied to them. Angela discovers Dexter's real identity after recalling her conversation with Angel Batista at a police convention. ||||||
| 6 | "Too Many Tuna Sandwiches" | Marcos Siega | Scott Reynolds & Warren Hsu Leonard | December 12, 2021 (2021-12-12) | 0.695 |
| Angela's relationship with Dexter is strained after discovering it was built on a lie. Dexter finds out that Kurt is a serial killer. Angela finds her long lost friend's body in Clark Caves and calls Dexter for his crime scene analysis skills. Harrison's dark passenger is revealed again in a school wrestling match and Dexter doesn't know how to handle it. ||||||
| 7 | "Skin of Her Teeth" | Sanford Bookstaver | Teleplay by : Veronica West & Kirsa Rein Story by : Veronica West & Kirsa Rein & Alexandra Salerno | December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19) | 0.713 |
| Dexter and Angela find seemingly incriminating DNA evidence against Kurt linking him to Iris' murder. Angela arrests him, though Dexter's suspicions that it will not be enough to get him convicted later proves true. The DNA deterioration can only prove a familial match, and Kurt claims the DNA belongs to his father. One of Kurt's clients hands Harrison an envelope to deliver to Dexter, which contains a titanium screw. Dexter later deduces that it belonged to Matt, and that Kurt knows Dexter murdered him. Molly points to holes in Dexter's story when questioned by Angela. Harrison reveals that he remembers his mother's murder and decides to leave town. Dexter tries to follow but is attacked by Kurt's client. ||||||
| 8 | "Unfair Game" | Sanford Bookstaver | Tony Saltzman & David McMillan | December 26, 2021 (2021-12-26) | 0.566 |
| Dexter escapes from his captor but is wounded and pursued through the snow. He later gains the upper hand and forces the man to confess Kurt's plans before killing him. Angela investigates and begins to suspect that Dexter murdered the drug dealer after connecting similar needle marks on the drug dealers. Kurt lures Harrison to his cabin where he intends to kill him in front of Dexter as soon as the latter arrives. However, he flees after Dexter attempts to run him over. Dexter opens up to Harrison about their shared dark passenger, and Harrison embraces him. ||||||
| 9 | "The Family Business" | Marcos Siega | Scott Reynolds | January 2, 2022 (2022-01-02) | 0.576 |
| Angela has trouble processing the mounting evidence she finds against Dexter and learns that Molly is missing, while Dexter's bond with Harrison deepens as he reveals his code and ultimately that he murders those who prey on others. As father and son hunt together and discover Kurt's bunker filled with his "trophies" (including the recent addition of Molly), Kurt sets fire to Dexter's cabin hoping to flush him out and kill him. When he learns that Dexter and Harrison have discovered his bunker, he prepares to flee town but is caught by the duo. Harrison insists on staying to help and watch his father deal with Kurt and calls him a hero for saving thousands of lives, but the pooling blood reminds him of his mother's death. Now homeless, Dexter and Harrison are invited by Audrey to stay with a dubious Angela, who receives a posthumous letter from Kurt containing a titanium screw and a note that states Jim Lindsay murdered Matt. ||||||
| 10 | "Sins of the Father" | Marcos Siega | Teleplay by : Clyde Phillips Story by : Clyde Phillips & Alexandra Franklin & Marc Muszynski | January 9, 2022 (2022-01-09) | 0.814 |
| Angela arrests Dexter for the murder of Matt Caldwell. When he rebuts all the evidence she brings forward against him, she contacts Batista, who is shocked to learn Dexter Morgan is still alive. Backed into a corner, Dexter tells Angela about Kurt's bunker and she abruptly leaves him in the care of Logan to investigate. Dexter breaks his code once again and kills Logan in order to escape from his cell and reunite with Harrison. Angela finds the bunker and calls for help, but is dismayed when Logan doesn't answer. Preparing to flee from town, Dexter gets into an argument with Harrison, who realizes that he killed Logan, an innocent man. They come to the conclusion that his code is flawed, that Harrison isn't like him, and that the only way for Harrison to be "normal" is for Dexter to die. He instructs Harrison to shoot him with the rifle to atone for his failures as a father and to set his son free. Dexter's inner monologue reveals that he feels love for the first time, before he is seemingly fatally shot. Angela arrives to the aftermath, gives Harrison some money and tells him to leave town and never return, as she prepares to take responsibility for Dexter's death. Harrison reads Dexter's final letter to Hannah before driving out of town. ||||||

## Production
### Development

The series finale of Dexter, in which Dexter flees Miami and ends up as a lumberjack in Oregon, was polarizing to the show's fans, according to lead actor Michael C. Hall. He said "I think the ending was 'mystifying' at best to people. 'Confounding', 'exasperating', 'frustrating' — on down the line of negative adjectives." Hall had been asked by fans in the eight years since the finale aired if there would be a follow-up to the show. Original showrunner Clyde Phillips, who had left the series after season 4, saw those questions asked of Hall and over time discussed possible ways to continue Dexter as some type of redemption, but could not figure out an appropriate route. Phillips was contacted by Showtime president Gary Levine on July 1, 2019. Levine told Phillips that he felt the time was right to bring back Dexter and asked if Phillips could come up with something. Phillips wrote a preliminary script which he then shared with Hall, who loved the idea.
Phillips recognized the ending had suited the time when it was broadcast, as around 2013, there were a number of real-life serial killers known to be living in Oregon and nearby states. Phillips also considered that by surrounding himself with chainsaws, Dexter was under a constant reminder about how his mother had died. As Phillips was unsure of the intent that the finale was meant to deliver, he decided to incorporate a major timeskip, nearly a decade from the end of events of the original series. Dexter has since moved to the fictional town of Iron Lake, New York and is living under a pseudonym, working in an outfitter shop selling guns for hunting and has ingratiated himself comfortably into the local community. Because of that, Phillips did not consider the miniseries as a ninth season. As the writing staff wrote out the ten-episode miniseries, they established how the series would end and wrote backwards from that. Phillips claimed that "The ending of this one will be stunning, shocking, surprising, unexpected. And without jinxing anything, I will say that the ending of this new season that we're doing will blow up the internet."
On October 14, 2020, the Dexter revival was ordered as a limited series consisting of 10 episodes, starring Hall in his original role, with Phillips returning as showrunner. On November 17, 2020, it was announced Marcos Siega would direct six of the ten episodes of the limited series as well as serving as an executive producer alongside Hall, John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Bill Carraro, and Scott Reynolds. It premiered on November 7, 2021, on Showtime. While a second season had been considered, Showtime ceased moving forward on it by the end of January 2023, instead pivoting to a prequel series about a younger Dexter.

### Casting

In January 2021, Clancy Brown, Julia Jones, Alano Miller, Johnny Sequoyah, Jack Alcott, and David Magidoff joined the main cast. On February 11, 2021, Jamie Chung and Oscar Wahlberg were cast in recurring roles. On June 28, 2021, John Lithgow joined the cast to reprise his role as Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer, in a cameo appearance. On July 13, 2021, it was announced that original series regular Jennifer Carpenter would reprise her role as Dexter's sister Debra in some capacity for the limited series. On August 24, 2021, it was reported that Carpenter is confirmed to reprise her role as a series regular, appearing as Dexter's "imaginary iteration of Debra".

### Filming

Production began in February 2021, with most of the show filmed in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, serving as a stand-in for Iron Lake. Exterior filming had to be coordinated around the weather, as the creators wanted to have a significant amount of snow in those shots, including a local frozen lake. Interior filming at New England Studios started around July 2021 over a fifty-day period. The series developer Clyde Phillips said there were 119 days of filming.
Additional filming locations were on Rt 117 in Lancaster, Grafton, Bolton (Nashoba Regional High), and Shirley (Bull Run Restaurant), Massachusetts.

## Reception
### Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 77% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Anchored by Michael C. Hall's still-compelling portrayal of the title character, Dexter: New Blood helps restore some of the luster lost by the show's contentious finale." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 29 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Hall also won TVLine's Performer of the Week ending January 15, 2022, for the finale episode.

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Dexter: New Blood :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Cold Snap" | November 7, 2021 | 0.20 | 0.678 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 2 | "Storm of Fuck" | November 14, 2021 | 0.12 | 0.560 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 3 | "Smoke Signals" | November 21, 2021 | 0.09 | 0.325 | 0.09 | 0.349 | 0.15 | 0.674 |
| 4 | "H Is for Hero" | November 28, 2021 | 0.06 | 0.460 | 0.13 | 0.613 | 0.19 | 1.073 |
| 5 | "Runaway" | December 5, 2021 | 0.11 | 0.549 | 0.12 | 0.497 | 0.23 | 1.046 |
| 6 | "Too Many Tuna Sandwiches" | December 12, 2021 | 0.15 | 0.695 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 7 | "Skin of Her Teeth" | December 19, 2021 | 0.15 | 0.713 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 8 | "Unfair Game" | December 26, 2021 | 0.11 | 0.566 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 9 | "The Family Business" | January 2, 2022 | 0.11 | 0.576 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 10 | "Sins of the Father" | January 9, 2022 | 0.16 | 0.814 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

### Awards and nominations

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | August 13, 2022 | Best Writing in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama | Clyde Phillips, Alexandra Franklin, and Marc Muszynski (for "Sins of the Father") | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Action-Thriller Television Series: Network/Cable | Dexter: New Blood | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series | Michael C. Hall | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Supporting Actress in a Network or Cable Television Series | Julia Jones | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Network or Cable Television Series | Jack Alcott | Nominated |
| Shorty Awards | 2022 | Audience Honor in Television | Dexter: New Blood | Won |
| Shorty Awards | 2022 | Best in Television | Dexter: New Blood | Won |

## Future

A prequel series titled Dexter: Original Sin has been released with a straight-to-series order. The series premiered on December 13, 2024, on Showtime. A sequel series titled Dexter: Resurrection, picking up after New Blood and the frame story of Original Sin, was announced with Michael C. Hall reprising his role as Dexter at San Diego Comic-Con on July 26, 2024.