Dexter: Resurrection Review: The Spark Still Isn't Dead in Showtime's Unkillable Serial Killer Franchise

If you told me a decade ago that Dexter would one day have multiple spin-offs (with more in development), I'd be pretty confused. The Showtime crime drama was always an odd choice to give the franchise treatment; sure, the 2021 limited series New Blood worked well enough as a corrective to the original's infamously bad ending, but Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) isn't necessarily a character built to stick around forever. (Who would want to watch Walter White cooking meth as a 70-year-old?) Appreciating the show was contingent on the unstated promise that this man would face consequences for his actions. Serial killing is not a heroic act, even for a self-styled avenger who mostly sticks to other serial killers.

At some point, though, after original showrunner Clyde Phillips stepped down at the end of Season 4, Dexter started buying more into its title character's morality. An antihero became a hero, in a way, mythically elevated above his countless ignorant coworkers at the Miami Metro Police Department and elsewhere. And while Phillips' return to the helm in New Blood provided a much-needed reminder that Dexter is not a good guy, actually — the show ends with his teenage son Harrison (Jack Alcott) shooting and apparently killing him — the success of prequel Original Sin and the greenlighting of Resurrection pointed to the essential truth that people want more Dexter. Who cares that the original run ended with one of the worst finales of all time? Why end it at all?

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Dexter: Resurrection picks up 10 weeks after the conclusion of New Blood, with Dexter newly awake from a coma and plotting his next move. There's little wasted time; by the end of the premiere, he's back on the run, desperate to both find his son and escape the attention of Angel Batista (a returning David Zayas), who can finally see Dexter for who he is after decades of ignorance. By Episode 2, he's settling into a new home: New York City, where he can make money driving rideshare and crash with his driver pal Blessing (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, endlessly endearing).

Why New York? That's easy: He has a strong suspicion that his son is there. Sure enough, Harrison is embroiled in his own crime story at the ritzy Manhattan hotel where he caters to the needs of wealthy, often morally bankrupt guests. After snapping and killing one of those guests to protect another, he's fending off interrogations from the eccentric but brilliant detective Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) and her partner Melvin Oliva (Dominic Fumusa), still torn between self-preservation and indulging his violent urges in the wake of New Blood.

7.5

Dexter: Resurrection

at Showtime

Like

• The original show's wicked sense of humor is still intact
• Solid new cast additions and invigorating new setting

Dislike

• All the themes are spelled out without subtlety

As in that earlier sequel series, much of Resurrection revolves around fatherhood, a theme emphasized by the return of James Remar as the ghost of Dexter's adoptive father and mentor, Harry. In the original show, Harry existed mainly to give Dexter someone to talk to about his double life, a role that often made him an unnecessary companion; after all, Dexter is already heavy on voiceover. Here, he's still scolding Dex and spelling out already-obvious conclusions, but the focus on parenting leads to some natural generational parallels: Harry once taught Dexter how to kill responsibly, and Dexter wants to pass down those lessons to protect Harrison.

It does take a while for Resurrection to actually bring Dexter and Harrison back together, content to let them lead their own stories separately early in the season. And it isn't until the fourth episode's serial killer dinner party that the main thrust of this story really becomes clear, thanks to the exploration of new characters like rich fanboy Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage); his enforcer, Charley (Uma Thurman); Mia Lapierre, aka Lady Vengeance (Krysten Ritter); and Lowell, aka the Tattoo Collector (Neil Patrick Harris).

To its credit, though, Resurrection rarely feels like it's treading water, especially with Michael C. Hall and Alcott as reliable anchors. In fact, based on the four episodes provided to critics, this may be the franchise's most purely entertaining entry since those earlier Phillips-helmed seasons. Just look at that fourth episode, a highlight. Does Dexter's intimate bond with Mia feel reminiscent of his past relationships with female murderers like Lila (Jaime Murray), Lumen (Julia Stiles), or Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski)? Sure. But Ritter brings a good energy to the show, and so do the other additions. And watching Dexter bond with other unrepentant killers actually offers a new take on the character, raising compelling questions and bringing out an intriguing internal conflict: Does Dexter have an obligation to massacre this group, or will Harry's code let him look the other way and pursue the type of mutual understanding he never really had?

It remains unclear, of course, just how long this particular iteration of the story will go. Resurrection isn't marketed as a limited series in the same way that New Blood was, suggesting we could get additional stories following Dexter in the Big Apple or elsewhere. For once, though, my confusion about the longevity of this franchise isn't entirely a negative. Unlike in New Blood, I have no real clue where Dexter and Harrison will end up anymore, either physically or morally, and that curiosity sustains these confident early episodes.

The show is setting up an existential decision here: Will Dexter embrace the uncomplicated affection and goodness of Blessing and his family, or seek community with the people who recognize his Dark Passenger? In Resurrection, we see him pulled closer to the light than ever before — he's actually motivated to save people now, rather than just killing evil people to keep his own urges at bay — but also presented with the option to lean into his darkest impulses. And while this version of Dexter is still the smartest guy in the room, there's a welcome vulnerability this time around, the result of both his coma and the natural aging process we all go through.

Look, this is still Dexter, and I'm doubtful that Phillips can ever match the delirious heights of those first four seasons. For the many, many viewers burned by the original series who weren't motivated to tune in to New Blood, this won't be a must-watch. But there's a lightness and a familiar dark humor in this iteration that brought me back to the old days of watching the show, before everything got so heavy. You can see it in Dexter's petty possessiveness of the "Dark Passenger" moniker after the press gives the same name to one driver-obsessed serial killer. You can see it in Detective Wallace popping on some headphones and listening to the Bee Gees whenever she scrutinizes a crime scene, a clue that the cops on this show are at least marginally more observant than the average cop on Dexter. And you can see it when the famously carnivorous Dexter is forced to follow a vegan diet as part of an assumed identity.

The title of this series doesn't just refer to Dexter's unlikely survival following a gunshot to the chest. It's not just about the death of his recent alter ego Jim Lindsay, and the "legal resurrection" of the name by which we know him. It's also a statement of purpose: Despite all odds, Dexter Morgan is still alive, and so is Dexter.

Premieres: Friday, July 11 on Paramount+ Premium; Sunday, July 13 at 8/7c on Showtime
Who's in it: Michael C. Hall, Peter Dinklage, David Zayas, Jack Alcott, James Remar
Who's behind it: Clyde Phillips, creator and showrunner
For fans of: Dexter, You
How many episodes we watched: 4 of 10