Netflix Gets Serial Killer Thriller Series That Changed TV Forever

In case you aren’t familiar with Dexter and want a bit of a summary before you check it out on Netflix, the series centers around Michael C. Hall’s titular character. Dexter is a forensic technician working for the Miami Metro Police Department by day who, after he clocks out and leaves the office behind, pursues his passion project as a serial killer. But there’s a twist – Dexter only preys on the underbelly of society, going after murderers who have somehow escaped their justice because of loopholes in the legal system or sketchy dealings with those in power. 

Those who tune in for Dexter on Netflix will find themselves questioning the moral implications of what Dexter is doing. On one hand, he’s cleaning up the streets of those who would wish others harm. But at the same time, is an eye for an eye really the way to go?

Along with Dexter, audiences will meet the killer’s family, his adoptive sister and co-worker Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), and his adoptive father Harry Morgan (James Remar). As future audiences will find, everyone in the Morgan household seems to have an obsession with seeing bad guys receive their proper punishment.

Over eight seasons, Dexter delighted audiences with some incredible plots and complex characters but began to run out of steam long before Showtime announced its plans to wrap the story after Season 8. And then came the finale which those watching Dexter on Netflix for the first time should know was widely panned by the fandom. This unsatisfying end to a show that had grown such a steady fanbase eventually led to the creation of Dexter: New Blood.

Hoping to do right by the dedicated fandom, Dexter: New Blood had the complete opposite effect. The 10-episode limited series featured many of the same actors and members of the creative team but by this point, it was too late to amend the damages done in the original show’s series finale. Essentially, if you’re a new Dexter watcher on Netflix, expect the first few seasons to be perfect before it begins to steadily fall to its doom by the grand finale. 

Still, moving from its home network of Showtime, Dexter’s arrival on Netflix is bound to be akin to the Suits viewership explosion that happened around this time last year when the USA Network drama arrived on the platform for the very first time. Eager audiences who had never seen the legal series before flocked to the streamer to see what all the fuss was about, giving the title so much attention that a spin-off, Suits: LA, is now hoping for a series order.

Playing their cards right, Showtime’s decision to outsource Dexter to Netflix comes at an opportune time as the serial killer series enters production on a prequel titled Dexter: Original Sin. This will be the second time that the story of Dexter Morgan will receive an off-shoot following the aforementioned and abysmally received Dexter: New Blood. Hopefully this time around, the creative team involved in explaining Dexter’s origin story will do right by the fans and the franchise can score another win instead of a gargantuan flop.