It’s time to buckle up your Dark Passengers folks – it looks like Dexter Morgan, everybody’s favourite homicidal psychopath, is coming back (again!). Following the completion of Paramount+’s merger with Showtime last week, The Wall Street Journal confirmed yesterday that multiple Dexter spin-offs – as well as a follow-up to the hugely successful New Blood revival series – are in the works.
First up, there’s been a straight-to-series order for a prequel show, Dexter: Origins. Set in Dexter’s hometown, Miami, the series will follow the beginnings of Morgan’s murderous path after joining the Miami Metro while touching on the stories of real life killers from the time. The show promises to give fans a chance to meet younger versions of characters from the original series; the prospect of seeing a teenage Deb and an altogether more alive Harry is a tantalising one indeed.
While Origins is primarily aiming to foster a new generation of fans for the franchise, Showtime also confirmed that they are developing a continuation of New Blood, which will shift the focus onto Dexter’s son Harrison as he wrestles with his own Dark Passenger. And if that still isn’t enough psychopathy for you, the network are also exploring the idea of further spin-offs focusing on memorable characters from the original series – namely John Lithgow’s terrifying ‘Trinity Killer’.
With Dexter: New Blood averaging 8 million viewers per episode and washing out the bitter taste of the main series’ disappointing finale, and a whole bunch of new projects in the pipeline, forget the DCU – we’re all about the DTU (Dexter Television Universe).