The New 'Dexter' Prequel Rocks
A few years ago, I marathoned the entire 'Dexter' series when I heard it was returning for another season (as a "spinoff" titled 'Dexter: New Blood')....
I had never seen the show before (I was eight when it came out) but was always curious about it, and I gotta tell ya - I absolutely loved it front-to-back. I was ADDICTED to episodes until it was finished. The Trinity Killer stuff with John Lithgow was among the best television I've ever seen, Michael C Hall's performance in the lead role was as good as any of the major TV roles of the 21st century, and honestly even the bad seasons were oddly enjoyable in a comfort-watch way....except when Deb and Dexter started falling for each other after Michael C Hall/Jennifer Carpenter got married (and divorced) in real life. What the fuck was that shit?
Obviously the original 'Dexter' finale massively dropped the ball and left just about everybody unhappy, so they ran it back almost ten years later with 'New Blood' to try to get it right - and I'd definitely say it was an improvement! The season was focused around Dexter's son, Harrison, finding him in upstate New York (having assumed a new identity) and you guessed it - a series of events unfolds that quickly brings Dexter back to the old him. Clancy Brown plays the main villain and is as captivating as any 'Dexter' antagonist not named Arthur Mitchell, Dexter's kid was cast perfectly, and the ending - while rushed and definitely not amazing - was better than the first one we got for sure. Although with the new series: 'Dexter: Resurrection' in the works, as well as some stuff teased in the prequel, it appears that ending won't be final and they're going for the finale three-peat! Third time's the charm!
When I first heard they were making a prequel that WOULDN'T feature an obviously old Michael C Hall in a bad wig pretending to be teenager, but that they were instead recasting everyone's favorite serial killer - I'm not gonna lie, I was worried....
After six episodes, though, I gotta admit - 'Dexter: Original Sin' kinda rocks! It's structured exactly like the original series, features all the same characters and settings and conflicts as the original series, it's made by the same people as the original series, and….pretty much just feels like the original series! It's not quite on that level yet, of course, but Michael C Hall still does Dexter's narration (which is like half the dialogue), Deb is still just as annoying as she always was, Christian Slater is acting his ass off as Harry Morgan teaches Dexter his "code", and the casting across the board is TREMENDOUS. Some actors are straight-up doppelgängers for their older counterparts, while others just exude the perfect vibe/energy for their characters. It truly feels like you're just watching another episode of the OG series at times.
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Angel Batista is probably the best one visually, but Patrick Gibson also does a fantastic job portraying one of the most iconic television characters ever who is so synonymous with one guy. He's totally believable as a young Dexter and even has his awkward humor and mannerisms down, but it never feels like a cheap impression. Shoutout to Alex Shimizu as a young Vince Masuka (with hair!), as well. He's been crushing it and cracking me up.
I haven't seen much buzz about this show online, so I don't know if anybody else is watching it - but if you liked the original series, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot. Being it's one of three 'Dexter' shows currently in production (along with 'Resurrection' and a Trinity Killer prequel), though, I have to imagine there's an audience for it somewhere.
P.S. They make a lot of jokes about Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine til he's 90 in 'Deadpool & Wolverine' - but Michael C Hall may actually play Dexter Morgan one way or another til he's 90.