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Dexter showrunner teases what we would’ve seen in Original Sin if Paramount hadn’t cancelled the prequel series
Dexter: Original Sin showrunner Clyde Phillips reveals what we would’ve seen in future seasons of the cancelled show
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In April 2025 Paramount+ announced that the Dexter prequel Dexter: Original Sin had been renewed for a second season. Unfortunately, that second season will never see the light of day. In a rare move, the streamer announced that they were reversing the decision and “unpicked it up.” The move was upsetting for Original Sin showrunner Clyde Phillips, who was excited about all the things the show had yet to explore.
“We plotted out a couple of years of this,” Clyde Phillips says during an appearance on the Dissecting Dexter podcast. “We were looking forward to introducing new characters like Doakes. Imagine Doakes at 25-years-old or 30-years-old. And Captain Matthews. And also watching Dexter’s evolution and Harry’s evolution.”
Harry Morgan, who was played by James Remar in the original series, was played by Christian Slater in Original Sin. The prequel series expanded on Harry’s backstory, exploring his guilt over the death of Dexter’s biological mother Laura, and revealing he had another son before Dexter and Debra. The child had drowned after falling into a swimming pool when Harry was supposed to be watching him. According to Phillips, Harry’s emotional journey would’ve been a big part of future seasons.
“If you remember in the pilot for Original Sin, which I wrote, the swimming pool scene. That was news. Nobody knew that. It was something I came up with, and it defined Harry. And we wanted to continue that definition and continue developing the characters and developing Dexter, played extraordinarily well by Patrick Gibson.”
The prequel also expanded on the backstory of Brian Moser, Dexter’s older brother. There were new revelations about him, including his earliest kills, and the complicated relationship he had with Dexter’s adopted father Harry. According to Phillips, Original Sin would’ve continued Brian’s journey, leading up to him becoming the Ice Truck Killer.
“Another thing we wanted to explore in the second season of Original Sin was Dexter’s relationship with Brian. We wanted to flesh that out until the seasons kind of merged into the original show, and then we would end it.”
Original Sin was supposed to take place fifteen years before the first season of the original series, which means the writers would’ve had to keep Dexter and Brian apart for multiple seasons to preserve continuity. However, Phillips said they would’ve figured it out.
Phillips says he doubts Paramount+ will reverse course, so for now these storylines remain as ideas. Still, maybe one day…
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