Showtime ordered Dexter: Original Sin straight to series in February 2023. The project was initially announced as Dexter: Origins, an origin-story prequel created by Clyde Phillips, who had also served as showrunner of the original Dexter series.
The prequel is set in 1991, long before Michael C. Hall’s Dexter became Miami Metro’s famed blood-spatter analyst. It follows Dexter Morgan as he begins an internship and learns to channel his violent impulses under the guidance of his adoptive father, Harry Morgan.
The series was later retitled Dexter: Original Sin and premiered in December 2024 on Paramount+ with Showtime, with a later Showtime cable broadcast. That distribution arrangement can cause confusion: Paramount+ is the streaming service, while Showtime is the premium cable brand and production label associated with the franchise.
The original Dexter ran from 2006 to 2013, followed by Dexter: New Blood in 2021–22. Original Sin expands the character’s backstory rather than adapting one of Jeff Lindsay’s novels directly.