The successful 2025 return of “Dexter: Resurrection” is one of this era’s most shocking TV surprises. After a legendarily misguided original season finale and mediocre reboots in “New Blood” and “Original Sin,” there was little reason to believe that this ghost of the Showtime original would find a pulse again. But did it ever: “Resurrection” was the best “Dexter” season since the prime of the original, a funny, sharp, very NYC thriller with great performances from top to bottom, including memorable guest turns from Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris, David Dastmalchian, Krysten Ritter, and Eric Stonestreet.
Knowing they needed to strike again quickly, the creators of “Resurrection” return with a second outing just over a year later, picking up exactly where they left off. That second part casts a shadow over the season premiere—Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) may love to close loose ends, but it doesn’t make for thrilling writing—but the season starts to develop its own personality in the second episode. Sadly, only two were sent to press, but there’s more than enough reason to believe Dexter Morgan is legitimately back, probably for multiple years.
Season one of “Dexter: Resurrection” saw Dexter killing serial killer memorabilia collector Leon Prater, dumping his remains in the Hudson River. To get there, Dexter also had to take out Angel Batista, and the murder of his former ally literally haunts him in the new season’s opening scene. Don’t worry, Angel doesn’t become the new Harry Morgan—James Remar returns as Dexter’s spectral conscience, the only person who truly knows about his Dark Passenger.
Anyone who saw season one knows not everyone saw the end of Dexter’s blade, and the premiere brings almost all of them back. A subplot involving Dexter tracking down the escaped Al Walker (aka Rapunzel) feels like a bit of a drag, both in concept and execution, designed to close the loop on Stonestreet’s arc and force Dex out of town while his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) graduates from the police academy.
Yes, the guy whose dad is one of the most prolific serial killers in history, and a guy who might not be 100% stable himself, has followed pops into criminal justice. As if that setup isn’t far-fetched enough, he ends up at the same station as Claudette Wallace (the wonderful Kadia Saraf) and Melvin Oliva (Dominic Fumusa), the cops who nearly put both Morgans away last season.
Luckily for Harrison, Wallace and Oliva have other concerns right now, and both promise fascinating thematic arcs this season. Two serial killers will clearly dominate the writing this year, both serving to offset Dexter’s very rigid lifestyle. First, there’s Don Framt, aka The New York Ripper (Brian Cox), a retired serial killer that nearly everyone knows is guilty, but there’s just not enough evidence to prove it.
Dexter has spent so much of his life keeping his crimes secret that he’s fascinated by someone who practically flaunts his, even taking pics with adoring fans. It’s a rich counterpoint, and possibly even fertile ground, for an era when it feels like people with power commit crimes in plain sight.
Then there’s The Five Borough Killer (Dan Stevens), a casual monster who gives up his seat for someone on the train before calling the NYPD to tell them someone will be murdered at a sporting event tonight. When he randomly shoots a woman in the parking lot of a game and airdrops the video to a stranger, it becomes clear that he’s one of the truly scary things in the world of serial killers: A purely random assassin, and one flaunting how easy it is to operate in plain sight. He contrasts with Dexter in that Morgan has a very specific code. How do you stop someone with no pattern? No logic? The potential cat-and-mouse between Hall and Stevens is one of the most promising elements of season two.
As if the characters played by Cox and Stevens weren’t enough—it wouldn’t be “Dexter” without stuffed plotting—the writers find a way to bring Thurman back into the action in a way I won’t spoil, other than to say it’s another aspect of the season that challenges Dexter’s way of being. Much of this season’s writing centers on the idea that Dexter is in a bit of a midlife crisis, and the plotting reflects that, with subplots clearly designed to throw him off his axis even further.
Some of that writing isn’t quite as sharp as last year, especially in the premiere. Most of all, Dexter’s inner monologue and conversations with Harry feel a bit more comedic than ever. Lines like “My dead dad gives me five stars” and “Is it any wonder I never cried at the end of Old Yeller?” after Dex sees an angry dog kind of sound like Dexter is doing stand-up comedy for the viewer. His dry wit and Hall’s perfect delivery have long been a star, but it would be easy for this show to push a bit too far into parody of what it used to be.
The second episode corrects some of that while also bringing Cox, Stevens, and Thurman deeper into the plotting. Alcott/Harrison continues to be a bit of a cipher in the middle of this show—his becoming a cop feels like little more than a wheel in the plot that will eventually force him into a situation where he can use his position to save dad—and bringing back Dexter’s landlord/friend Blessing (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) reminds one that they didn’t do enough with that actor/character last season.
Yet the underwriting of Blessing and Harrison never lingers long enough to drag “Resurrection” into the dismal morass of late “Dexter” seasons, because so much else works. Sometime after the dirge that was “New Blood,” the writers remembered that “Dexter” needed to be fun again and shifted into the entertaining reality the franchise is in now. Never bet against Dexter Morgan.
Two episodes screened for review. Returns on Paramount+ on October 30, 2026.
