This article contains spoilers for Dexter: Resurrection Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2
I’ll admit, I was pretty satisfied when Dexter: New Blood seemingly wrapped up Dexter Morgan’s story in 2021. I mean, being shot dead by your son isn’t exactly the best way to go, but Dexter was a complicated guy and a serial killer, so maybe death by your own child is somehow fitting? The series wasn’t perfect, but it appeared to put his story to rest. Even with the prequel series in 2024, Dexter: Original Sin, there seemed to be no plans to bring Dexter back from the dead, and his story was seemingly finished. Flash forward to 2025, and before you could say serial killer, Dexter was back, with a new series called Dexter: Resurrection.
The show follows Dexter (Michael C. Hall) after he wakes from a ten-week coma. Assuming his son wasn’t that good of a shot, he heads to New York, where his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), has relocated. He aims to figure out that whole relationship. Suffice it to say, it’s not that easy, and complications arise, forcing both Dexter and Harrison to make some tough choices.
The first two episodes, “A Beating Heart…” and “Camera Shy,“ were a mishmash of many things. While the series premiere was entertaining at times, it makes me wonder what the endgame is here and whether this whole series was indeed a good idea.
Dexter wakes up confused and disoriented. We feel you, Dexter, because there’s a lot of confusion and mistakes about how he got shot in the first place. Adding to this confusion are his hallucinations of people from the past—killers, friends—who speak to him as he struggles to wake from the coma. James Remar returns as Harry Morgan, the teacher, father, and guide, trying to help Dexter from beyond the grave. But he is just one of many voices from Dexter’s past speaking to him during and after the coma, which makes everything even more confusing and disorienting for him.
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Meanwhile, in New York, Harrison attempts to move on from his past and establish some semblance of a normal life. While working at a hotel, he’s homeless, but manages to hop from room to room, thanks to the help of fellow employee Elsa (Emilia Suarez). Harrison tries his best, but he can’t suppress that dark side of him for long (thanks, Dad). Soon, he ends up in a tricky situation, and before long, there are cops on the scene investigating the brutal death of a man who was found chopped into pieces.
Dexter watches the news report on this familiar kind of death and realizes he needs to head to New York. Trouble is, his old friend Angel Batista (David Zayas) is back, snooping around and skeptical about what he’s been told. He has too much experience and knowledge to let Dexter walk away easily. Nevertheless, Dexter slips past him and makes his way to New York, intent on seeing what kind of trouble his son is in and how he can help. Of course, he doesn’t want to traumatize the poor kid any more with the sight of his supposedly dead dad now walking around alive.
The first episode, “A Beating Heart…,” is chock-full of call-backs and cameos, featuring a who’s who from Dexter’s past. It was fun to see some of these characters come back right from the start, but there’s definitely a strange vibe to Dexter: Resurrection. There’s a mix of old and new characters, which is oddly compelling, but it raises the question of how much of this season will be a trip down memory lane. A reunion show isn’t really the best way to make a comeback, but maybe there’s more to it after two episodes than meets the eye.
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There is still plenty of the show’s classic dark comedy, which is great to see. A serial killer is targeting ride-share drivers and has been nicknamed the “Dark Passenger,” which Dexter does not find amusing at all. He becomes a driver to hunt down this killer, with help from another driver, Blessing Kamara (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). It’s interesting to see Dexter start the hunt, a mix of wanting to save people and annoyance that someone has stolen his very personal name. Let’s hope Dexter isn’t getting soft in his old serial killer age.
More quirky humor comes from the two detectives assigned to investigate the chopped-up body they found. Det. Melvin Oliva (Dominic Fumusa) and Det. Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) are an interesting pair. Wallace is exceptionally smart and very obsessive, leading Oliva to work side by side in admiration and a bit of fear. (Wallace getting in the detective zone listening to the Bee Gees was a great touch.) They are a compelling duo and quickly start to piece things together, including talking to Harrison as part of their investigation.
As always, Michael C. Hall delivers a strong performance as Dexter, providing fans with the focused, dark, and sinister character they have come to love. However, this time, he seems slightly different. Perhaps almost dying is the reason, as he feels Father Time ticking away, which gives him a stronger urgency to make things right with his son. That relationship didn’t always work in New Blood, but there’s enough there that these new circumstances might make things even more uncomfortable in Dexter: Resurrection. As Dexter observes at one point, he seems to be adjusting okay; I don’t know if he needs a visit from ghost Dad.
“A Beating Heart…” and “Camera Shy” were pretty safe and steady, covering all the essential ground while having some fun with familiar faces. While this might not be enough to carry the show through ten episodes, there was a hint of an intriguing new plot sparked by Uma Thurman’s debut as Charley. How they will weave all these elements together successfully remains to be seen, but for now, it was good to see Dexter back in the land of the living.
Dexter: Resurrection Episodes 1 and 2 are now available for streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. The remaining episodes will premiere weekly, every Friday.
