Paramount Had Huge Plans For Dexter Before Original Sin's Cancellation

Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" franchise is a juggernaut for Paramount, so it's only to be expected that the company's higher-ups would try to replicate its success with other properties. At one point, former executive Chris McCarthy even planned on green-lighting several "Dexter" spin-offs, only for Paramount's merger with Skydance to mess up those plans. 

Clyde Phillips, the showrunner on the canceled "Dexter: Original Sin" and other series centering on the eponymous serial killer, opened up about this in an interview with the "Dissecting Dexter" podcast (via PopVerse):

"'Yellowstone' had a couple of prequels to set it. After 'New Blood,' Showtime picked up Harrison's story, and we wrote 10 scripts of Harrison, which was completely different than where he ended up in 'Resurrection,' because Dexter wasn't involved. And then they picked up 'Trinity.' We wrote 10 scripts of 'Trinity.' I mean, I live in the East Coast. I was in LA for over a year with my writers, writing all these shows, creating the verse. And then the merger happened, and Paramount had other plans. And you know what, it's their show, it's their money, and they can do what they want."

"Dexter: Original Sin" was canceled after one season, despite initially being renewed for a second installment by Paramount and Showtime. "Trinity," meanwhile, was a planned prequel series about John Lithgow's Arthur Mitchell, aka The Trinity Killer, a character who debuted in "Dexter" season 4. That spin-off also appears to be dead in the water, but there might be some glimmers of hope for the franchise's future.

While plans for an expanded franchise are uncertain, "Dexter: Resurrection" looks set to receive a second season. Clyde Phillips has confirmed that the plan is to start writing the next installment later this year, with tentative plans to start shooting it in spring 2026, assuming everything goes according to plan. That said, when one remembers that "Dexter: Original Sin" was canceled after being renewed, some fans might be worried about the future of "Resurrection" (especially now that Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are in talks for a potential merger).

The good news, though, is that "Dexter: Resurrection" is a hit on Showtime, both commercially and critically. The season 1 premiere was a record-smashing success story for the network, and its 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes is on par with the original series' glory days. It remains to be seen if the warm response to "Resurrection" will inspire Paramount to greenlight more sequels, prequels, or spin-offs down the line (especially on a level similar to that of Taylor Sheridan's ever-expanding "Yellowstone" saga), but never say never, right? After all, if Dexter Morgan has taught us anything, it's that he can't be easily killed.