Can you believe Michael C. Hall has been playing Dexter Morgan for almost 20 years now? And we still can't get enough of him. Even though the original Showtime series ended long ago, back in 2013, the world of Dexter has continued to pump out new stories, with the cabler turning it into a full-fledged franchise.
Late last year, we went back to the beginning of Dexter's story, with The OA star Patrick Gibson stepping into the role of young Dexter in the prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. Now airing is Dexter: Resurrection, seeing the titular character back from the dead, with more spinoffs in the works after that. If you're new to the series or haven't watched it in a long time, this guide will help you figure out the best order to watch everything from start to finish!
1. Dexter (2006-2013)
- Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, & C. S. Lee
- Seasons: 8 (96 episodes)
- Streaming: Netflix & Paramount+ with Showtime
The story of avenging serial killer Dexter Morgan, played by Michael C. Hall, begins. Even though Original Sin is a prequel series, it makes more sense to start with the main show, which often functioned as a prequel in itself. Dexter features numerous flashbacks to the titular character's past, showing how his adoptive father, Harry Morgan (James Remar), taught him the strict "code" Dexter adheres to when indulging in his darkest, most murderous desires.
Based on Jeff Lindsay's books, Dexter follows a fully-grown Dexter working as a blood splatter analyst for the Miami Metro PD while being a serial killer in secret. Though the first four seasons are the best, it's still worth watching all eight to see the story play out and understand the direction the spinoffs would later take. Watching Dexter will make you appreciate the prequel series more than if you were to watch Original Sin first.
2. Dexter: New Blood (2021-2022)
- Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, Julia Jones, Johnny Sequoyah, Alano Miller, Jennifer Carpenter, & Clancy Brown
- Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
- Streaming: Prime Video & Paramount+ with Showtime
Picking up ten years after the Dexter ending, Dexter: New Blood sees our titular anti-hero living a fairly normal life in a fictional small town. Seeing as how (SPOILER!) Dexter faked his death at the end of the original series, we meet him living under an alias after successfully restraining his urges throughout the past decade.
He even starts a new romantic relationship with the town's police chief. But then his estranged son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), shows up, and Dexter is forced to reckon with the possibility that he passed on his darkness to his kid.
3. Dexter: Resurrection (2025)
- Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, David Zayas, Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Krysten Ritter, & James Remar
- Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
- Streaming: Paramount+ with Showtime
Taking place directly following the events of Dexter: New Blood, Dexter wakes up from a coma and is forced to start over again. Relocating to New York, where he’s discovered Harrison has moved, he doesn’t have a plan quite yet—until he senses a spark of the Dark Passenger inside his son.
In the Big Apple, Dexter soon learns who the latest serial killer is and is on the hunt to take them down. But what he doesn’t realize is the city is full of evil characters who he might benefit from getting close to. Emphasis on “might.”
4. Dexter: Original Sin (2025)
- Cast: Patrick Gibson, Christian Slater, Molly Brown, Christina Milian, James Martinez, Alex Shimizu, Reno Wilson, Patrick Dempsey, & Michael C. Hall
- Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
- Streaming: Paramount+ with Showtime
The latest entry into the Dexter franchise is the prequel series Original Sin. If you haven't seen any of Dexter before and are using this guide to find out where to start, I recommend not reading any further since I'll be going into detail about why you should save this one for last. In short, the framing device that sets up Original Sin won't be as significant to a newcomer who doesn't understand Dexter's history.
To go into more (spoiler-y) detail, Original Sin is, in some ways, both a sequel to New Blood and a prequel to the entire franchise. It starts with Dexter being rushed to the hospital after Harrison seemingly killed him at the end of New Blood. The hospital staff revives Dexter, and as he fluctuates between life and death, his entire life "flashes" before his eyes—and thus, the prequel series is born.
Even though Original Sin recasts a younger actor to play Dexter (Patrick Gibson), Hall returns for a brief scene at the beginning. Like in the original show, he also narrates Dexter's inner monologue. The prequel features many characters who will go on to become important in Dexter's story, so you will appreciate it much more if you watch the shows in release order.
Plus, seeing as this is the only prequel in the franchise, it's best to watch it at the very end so as not to confuse the timeline.
And if the above shows aren't enough to sate your own hunger for more of Dexter's stories, then never fear, because there is more on the way, including another prequel, this time following John Lithgow's sinister character, Arthur Mitchell, also known as one of Dexter's most formidable enemies, the Trinity Killer.
Dexter: Resurrection releases new episodes every Friday.