PLOT: Dexter Morgan, that lovable serial killer who targets other serial killers, has to deal with a midlife crisis while tracking several murderers in the New York area.
REVIEW: After an eight-season run, an attempt was made to wrap up the Dexter TV series back in 2013 – but the finale was so poorly-received, series star Michael C. Hall reunited with Clyde Phillips, who had served as the showrunner on the first four seasons of Dexter, for a miniseries called Dexter: New Blood, which ran for ten episodes from 2021 into 2022. Again, an attempt was made to wrap up the story of Dexter Morgan for good. And again, fans rejected the finale. We don’t want to see Dexter’s story end. The attempts to bring it to a conclusion have sucked. We want to see Dexter go on, to keep serving as a flawed avenger. The serial killer who takes other serial killers off the streets.
The Dexter franchise is now celebrating its twentieth anniversary, and recently it has been great to see Hall fully embrace the idea that this character is the one fans really want to see him play. He’s locked in to see it through for as long as it goes now, starring in the revival series Dexter: Resurrection, with Phillips once again overseeing the story. The second season of Dexter: Resurrection is the twelfth season of the series overall (including the one-season prequel Dexter: Original Sin), and judging by the first two episodes, this is going to be just as fun to watch as some of the best seasons that have come before.
A tragic childhood left Dexter with an urge to kill that he refers to as his Dark Passenger. His adoptive father, police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar) knew what Dexter was capable of and taught him a Code: rather than preying on innocent victims, Dexter was taught to focus on criminals. Killers. And this homicidal vigilante has proven to be very good at taking down other murderers. Harry passed away years ago, but he’s still very prominent in Dexter’s thoughts, sticking around to advise him and keep him in line.
As of Dexter: Resurrection season 2,the lead character is set up in New York City, working as a rideshare driver, and living in a basement apartment in the home of fellow rideshare driver Blessing Kamara (Nitare Guma Mbaho Mwine). A brush with a billionaire serial killer enthusiast left Dexter with knowledge of six serial killers that have never been brought to justice: the New York Ripper, the Midnight Mangler, the Yonkers Slayer, the Jaw-Splitter, the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger, and Rapunzel. That gives him a mission to complete in this season – and since there’s a “few year” time jump between this season and the previous, he has already made some progress, allowing for actor/wrestler Chris Jericho and musician Shavo Odadjian to make quick cameos as serial killers that Dexter has taken out since we last saw him. A fantasy sequence also allows for a cameo from actor/stuntman Kane Hodder, who played hockey-masked slasher icon Jason Voorhees in four of the Friday the 13th films. As a massive F13 fan, I was disappointed to see that Hodder’s appearance only amounted to a handful of seconds, but it was cool to see him on Dexter nonetheless.
Eric Stonestreet reprises the role of Rapunzel from the previous season. Also in the mix, as promised in casting announcements, are Gabriel Luna as the Sleepy-Eyed Stranger, who is given a really creepy introduction; Brian Cox as the New York Ripper, a sleazy, sloppy old man who homicide detectives Claudette Wallace (Kadia Saraf) and Melvin Oliva (Dominic Fumusa) don’t have enough evidence to convict; and Dan Stevens as an emerging serial killer who calls himself the Five Borough Killer. Uma Thurman returns this season as Charley Brown, who previously worked as the head of security for that billionaire serial killer enthusiast and offers to be a “facilitator” in Dexter’s clean-up job, but it’s not going to be quick and easy.
Jack Alcott is also back as Dexter’s son Harrison, now 21 and a new graduate from the police academy. When Wallace and Oliva recognize his name as a suspect in an old murder case, it puts Harrison on the fast-track to working in the homicide department, where he develops a complicated relationship with training officer Fiona Mixon (Nona Parker Johnson), the daughter of Captain Mixon (Bokeem Woodbine).
And if that weren’t already enough storylines to hang a season on, we also get the return of former Miami homicide detective Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington), who’s now working as a P.I., and a subplot where Dexter is dealing with a midlife crisis. He feels underappreciated, he wants recognition for the good deeds he has done… and his eyes are going bad. As someone who has had to wear glasses since third grade and had a bit of a midlife meltdown at 37, I find it quite impressive that Dexter has made it into his 50s before having a crisis and developing blurry vision.
Although Dexter has been around for twenty years, I only got into the show in the last couple of years. As I binged my way through all of the seasons, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the show, and how much I liked Dexter. I legitimately miss the guy when he’s away from my TV screen for too long (so I’m really glad I didn’t have to endure that 2013 – 2021 wait as a fan). I thought the first season of Dexter: Resurrection was great, and so far, even though I have only seen one-fifth of the ten episodes, the new season is shaping up to be a fun addition to the franchise.
Michael C. Hall is still in top form as his awesome character, Clyde Phillips and his writing team are crafting interesting stories for him, he has a strong supporting cast, and there are some creepy, scummy killers out there for him to bring to justice. If you’re a fan of Dexter, it looks like Dexter: Resurrection season 2 is going to deliver exactly what you want to see. After two disappointing attempts to bring Dexter Morgan’s story to an end, it’s great to see that this season is giving us yet another reason to root for our favorite serial killer… and I hope he sticks around for a long time to come.
Dexter: Resurrection season 2 premieres Friday, October 30, 2026, exclusively on Paramount+.
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