Dexter: Resurrection is a new show on Paramount+ with all ten episodes available to watch now. It serves as a sequel series to Dexter: New Blood. Developed by the show’s original showrunner, Clyde Phillips, the show stars Michael C. Hall, Uma Thurman, Jack Alcott, David Zayas, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Kadia Saraf, Dominic Fumusa, Emilia Suárez, James Remar, Peter Dinklage, and a ton of other guest stars. Dexter Morgan awakens from a coma and sets out for New York City, determined to find Harrison and make things right. But when Miami Metro’s Angel Batista arrives with questions, Dexter realizes his past is catching up to him fast.

I first found the Dexter series on Netflix back when I was in high school. The fifth season had just aired, so I had time to catch up before the sixth season. Needless to say, I was a mega fan between the story and the characters. I had not seen anything like it before. I bought all the seasons on physical media. I rewatched every season as much as possible. Even through the show’s low’s, I still admired it for what it was. Admittedly, I didn’t mind the two ending’s we got. At this rate, how else can the show end? I suppose that’s not important right now, because the show find a creative way to come back and I can’t imagine it going away anytime soon.

After New Blood’s divisive ending, I never thought we would get any sort of continuation like this as it felt like Dexter’s death was final. At least that was the intention at the time. When this new series got announced, of course I was skeptical. I was even more skeptical when the show started filming in January of this year. That’s rarely unheard of to get something that fast out there in the world. It’s clear the writers had everything laid out and planned, thus allowing the show to be film efficiently, without any setbacks or errors. To my surprise, this show hasn’t been this good since the fourth season of the main show.

What works throughout the show is how layered the story is and how well developed the characters are. Jack Alcott returns as Dexter’s son, Harrison, who shot him in the New Blood finale. I don’t think anyone, even myself, expected for the 180 character development of Harrison. He went from an unlikable character to a redeeming one full of heart and emotion. We also get a new version of Angel Batista here that feels fitting. I have seen some viewers not liking this interpretation of the character. If I found out my friend did the same thing Dexter did, I would also be hurt and probably act out in the same way. It just hurts to see what Batista tries to do.

Of course, this show wouldn’t work without Michael C. Hall. While Hall has always been one of the redeeming factors throughout the show’s history, this is probably the best that we have seen him since the early days of the show during seasons 1-4. Clyde Phillips returns as the original showrunner and it’s like he’s listening to everything the fans have been saying, delivering a season of television full of interesting characters and mysteries that development new weekly fan theories.

When the show was announced and filming commenced, a lot of guest stars joined the show. To me, it initially sounded concerning as it seemed like the guest stars were only there for star power. Instead, we got something that subverted expectations in a surprising way that worked. Episodes 4 & 9 are my favorite episodes of this show. What made episode 4 work so well is Neil Patrick Harris. There’s a moment of realization that he has that is rarely captured on screen and it allows Dexter go back to what made Dexter so good to begin with.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the writing this season, it also came with its flaws that could have been worked through had the show be given more time in pre-production. There are two new detectives in the show listed as series regulars. As good as the performances are, the characters also lack depth. It’s clear the female detective is autistic, but not much more is learned about her other than her obsession with the Stayin’ Alive song that does get repetitive at a point. I also think the show takes way too long to get going. It takes about four episodes to get the plot going. The arc to get there does feel natural, but for a ten-episode season, I believe the show could have gotten things going a lot sooner.

The most ironic thing about the whole show is how I felt about the Prater & the Batista storyline. I think everything with the Prater storyline is perfect, but I was more interested in the Batista storyline, which is the one that I cared more about. The emotional stakes are there with the cat-and-mouse game between Dexter and Batista. Dexter just gets too lucky with how he is able to evade Batista at the right times.

Overall, Dexter: Resurrection is simply incredible. We are living through a grand year full of iconic television, and this is one that you can add to the list. From the performances to the writing to the direction, this show feels like the early days of Dexter. While I can’t wait to see what comes next for the show, I also think it would be hilarious if the show ended here completely in order to end on a high note. At this rate, I don’t know what a satisfying ending for this character looks like. If we get more of Quinn next season, I think there could be a good endgame in place for the character.

VERDICT: 4.5/5 (Amazing)