Dexter: New Blood (2021)

When we last saw Dexter Morgan, he had survived Hurricane Laura after disposing of his sister Debra’s body in the waters off Miami. The last scene of the original series saw Morgan parking his big rig in a snowy landscape and entering a spare looking cabin in the place that looked more like northern Canada than Florida.

Now after its stunning seven-year run (2006-2013), Michael C. Hall’s socially-awkward, blood spatter expert, and “ethical” serial killer Dexter Morgan of Miami Metro Homicide returns, but as the community-oriented Jim Lindsay, all-round unassuming nice guy who works at a wilderness and sports gear store in Iron Lake, New York.

Unfortunately, the hauntingly memorable theme music of the original has mostly gone, as has the infectious Latin music soundtrack that helped to give the show its unique Miami flavour, and almost all the stellar original cast, save for David Zayas’ Angel Batista who makes brief appearances.

But some of the original cast’s noteworthy racial diversity – African American, (African) Latino, Asian – is still present and expanded with the addition of the Latina bartender Tess (played by Gizel Jimenez), the differently-abled white police station clerk Esther (played by Katy Sullivan), and the black sergeant, high school wrestling coach, all-around good guy, and father-figure to wayward teens Logan (played by Alano Miller).

Set in the dead of winter, the new plot still draws Dexter into the sphere of the police since Jim’s indigenous girlfriend just happens to be the local sheriff, Angela Bishop, played by Julia Jones. Bishop is understandably cautious about her adopted daughter Audrey’s (Johnny Sequoyah) safety given that her own best friend went missing years before and she has a hunch (and she would be correct) that a serial killer who has targeted young runaways for years – played to creepy perfection by Clancy Brown – is on the loose.

The show then takes the opportunity to address the very real and urgent epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women. While Jim has managed to rein in Dexter’s “dark passenger” and live a quiet life since fleeing Miami and changing his identity, the question is, can he maintain his new persona and no-killing policy when his nearly-grown son Harrison suddenly reappears in his life, demanding a lifetime of answers. If Jennifer Carpenter’s Debra – now installed as Dexter’s ghostly conscience – has anything to say about it, he just might. But if his astute girlfriend and the relentless Molly Park (the podcasting star played by Jamie Chung) unravel Dexter’s true identity, all hell could break loose. A can’t miss for die-hard Dexter fans!