After the polarizing reception to the original series finale of "Dexter," former series showrunner Clyde Phillips developed the sequel series "Dexter: New Blood" as a means of continuing the story of serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). The finale of that series, which saw the former Miami Metro PD living a new life in a wintery upstate New York town, essentially tried to right the ship once again by giving the titular character a more fitting ending. Unfortunately, Dexter's "death" at the hands
of his teenage son Harrison (Jack Alcott) proved to once again be a controversial decision according to the fans. It truly seemed like the "Dexter" franchise would be in a perpetual state of having to make up for the last mistake it kept making.
It was easy to initially scoff at the idea of a prequel series, considering some of the flagship show's funniest moments came from flashbacks of young Dexter mostly featuring Hall in a laughably awful wig. This didn't seem to deter Paramount, as the greenlight was given to Phillips the following year to develop one, which eventually became "Dexter: Original Sin." Taking place 15 years before the events of the original series' first season, "Original Sin" follows a 20 year-old Dexter (Patrick Gibson) being taught by his adopted father Harry Morgan (Christian Slater) to control his deadly impulses and learn how to kill without being caught through the Code. A decade and a half is a big gap to fill concerning Dexter's history from Miami Metro PD intern to blood spatter analyst, so it could hav conceivably spanned a few seasons, but it appears the sun has partially set on the "Dexter" empire.
According to a report from Variety, Paramount has officially cancelled "Dexter: Original Sin" after just one season. Strapping the show to the titular character's kill table comes as quite a surprise considering it was supposedly renewed for a second season back in April. Although /Film's Russell Murray put "Original Sin" towards the low tier of Dexter's television output, the prequel series received mixed to positive reception and has a 70% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to receiving decent ratings. If you're wondering why Paramount pulled the plug on the Showtime show, there are a couple of reasons.
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Dexter: Original Sin Had Initially Been Renewed For Season 2
The report from Variety implies the cancellation of "Original Sin" is the result of wanting to focus on "Dexter: Resurrection," which picks up weeks after the events of "New Blood." The sequel series to the initial sequel series follows Dexter (Hall) not only healing from his gunshot wound to the chest, but following Harrison to New York City. While there, he finds himself mingling in the company of a club of serial killers played by Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, and Peter Dinklage, among others. Where "New Blood" largely kept things contained to the town of Iron Lake, "Resurrection" is currently broadening the series' scope to NY as a sort of serial killer's playground. There are about two episodes left in the current season, and given that Paramount is opening up a writers' room for a potential second batch of episodes, it appears likely that moving the story forward instead of looking back was the way to go.
According to Variety, Paramount's recent merger with Skydance is what compelled executive Matt Thunnell to axe the prequel route in order to focus more on Hall solely planted in the role again. It's a smart decision, all things considered. For as much as Patrick Gibson did his best to emulate his television predecessor, it mostly ever came across as an impression. He'd be overshadowed in nearly every episode, as his internal monologue was voiced by Hall. The prequel is presented through the perspective of Hall's Dexter, whose life is flashing before his eyes on the way to the hospital mere moments after the ending of "New Blood." Young Dexter was doomed to fail if Gibson couldn't hold his own without Hall's presence.
One of the biggest, uh, sins of "Original Sin" lies in not straying too far from the status quo. By the end of the first episode, Gibson's Dexter is already a fixture within Miami Metro PD. Characters such as Det. Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian), Det. Angel Batista (James Martinez), and Vince Masuka (Alex Shimizu) are played by younger actors wearing the same kind of costumes they would often wear in the original series. It's like "Muppet Babies" for "Dexter" aficionados. "Original Sin" largely felt superfluous and unnecessary, as there's very little to explore that anyone who's seen the flagship show's eight seasons couldn't have already inferred. We're not sad to see it go.
Every episode of "Dexter: Original Sin" is currently streaming on Paramount+.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
