Paramount Changes Mind on ‘Dexter’ Prequel

Dexter: Original Sin, a prequel to the hit drama series, was canceled at Paramount despite previously being renewed for a second season.

"Paramount has opted not to move forward with another season of the prequel series," Varietyreported. "A Season 2 renewal announcement went out in April, but sources say the series has in fact been on hiatus and no plans to shoot a second season had moved forward and no production dates were scheduled."

The show -- which explained Dexter Morgan's evolution into a serial killer -- premiered in December 2024. The 10-episode first season concluded in February. Originally, Showtime announced that the series would be returning for a second season.

The prequel was created by Clyde Phillips and looked back on Dexter's youth, beginning in 1991, 15 years before the original series premiered. The series premiere reportedly racked up more than 2 million streams, making it Showtime's most streamed premiere in history, according to The Wrap.

Dexter star and Dexter: Original Sin executive producer Michael C. Hall, opened up about the prequel during a July 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly calling the scripts "fantastic."

"I can't wait, like as a fan, to watch it, and as an actor, to spend time seeing real footage of things that I've sort of tried to imagine for myself when I imagine what Dexter's early days [were like], now I'm going to have this technicolor version of his memories to refer to," he said. "And I think it will help inform my experience of whatever comes next in the other series, which I can only speak vaguely about at this point."

He continued, during a Comic Con panel, "It’s pretty heady. It’s so gratifying. I cannot wait to watch this show. I’m on the inside to a certain degree and I have a sense of what’s coming but I’m really excited. I’ve spent so much time with this character and to go back and have all the imaginative blanks filled in is going to be great."