Dexter: New Blood, the sequel/reboot series of the Showtime series titled Dexter, concluded at the beginning of this year. As fans of the series will remember, the season ended with Dexter being killed semi-reluctantly by his son, Harrison, a dark and unhappy ending for the unlikely anti-hero.
Writer Clyde Phillips clarified this creative decision by saying that Dexter is a serial killer and, therefore, it would make no sense for him to have a happy ending. Many fans were unhappy with this conclusion and pointed to some of the character’s more human traits as evidence that he’s not that bad of a person, but regardless of these feelings, the ending closed this chapter of Dexter. Despite this mixed reception, Showtime are actively developing a spin-off of New Blood starring Harrison Morgan, but the definitive nature of the ending of the last episode leaves some confusion as to the plot of a potential new season. Still, some clues remain as to what a Harrison spin-off of Dexter: New Blood could be about.
The whole point of reviving the infamous TV anti-hero in Dexter: New Blood was to give fans a more satisfying ending than the original series did. The original show ended with the title character’s sister, Deb, dying and Dexter himself isolating away from everyone else, abandoning his son in the process. Star Michael C. Hall admitted that the first ending wasn’t to his liking, but backed the creative decisions seen at the conclusion of New Blood, which interestingly doubled down on the themes of the original ending. Dexter being painted as an inherently bad character after years of moral grayness and ambiguity happened in both endings, which some viewers didn’t exactly appreciate.
The situation regarding fan reception to the ending of New Blood isn’t ideal heading into a new series/season starring Harrison. Still, viewers still tuned in after the disliked original finale, one that is often referred to as one of if not the worst TV endings of all time. With that in mind, there is hope for the network in that regard. On the creative side, as stated previously, New Blood concluded so definitively that it seems another fresh start is in order for any sequel. A new location and cast of side characters seem likely, as Harrison drove out of the New York town of Iron Lake at the very end with a smile on his face.
That isn’t the only clue to the specifics of a Harrison show, though. Dexter might be dead, but this world has a fondness for ghost-like characters. Harry Morgan, Dexter’s father and Harrison’s grandfather (and namesake), died prior to season one, but appeared in eight straight seasons in a vision-type role. After Deb died at the end of season eight, she went on to take over the vision/ghost role in New Blood, so the precedent is there for Michael C. Hall to return as Dexter yet again.
In fact, Hall’s return seems less like a possibility and more like a probability for this Harrison show. The actor has spoken about the sheer time and effort it took to play Dexter for all those years, but appearing as a ghost figure would lessen the burden significantly. Jennifer Carpenter had a constant presence in New Blood but had much less screen time than Hall, so the latter could take on the same sort of role. Doing so would allow him to focus on other roles and his music, two things of particular interest to the actor. He was willing enough to come back for New Blood even after years of questions and criticisms of the original ending, and he does appear to be prouder of the new season, so it doesn't appear that he'd have any objections to another return. Writer Clyde Phillips has often been the one to talk about a Harrison spin-off, and he's likely to return as showrunner, which only increases the chances of Hall's return even more (especially as Phillips was the head of the first four seasons of Dexter, the most critically acclaimed outings).
Plot wise, New Blood made it clear that Harrison has the same Dark Passenger as Dexter, but he has some clear distinctions as well. Harrison feels more guilt about what he does and doesn’t exactly get the same sort of enjoyment out of it as Dexter did, hence why he had to leave the room after the pair killed Clancy Brown’s villain. Harrison is, in many ways, a less severe version of Dexter in that he became excited at becoming a serial killer only for the superhero, vigilante aspects of it all. Dexter always cared for the victims of murderers (to a certain extent), but Harrison has more empathy than his father. All of these signs shown in New Blood are indicators of some of the core themes that will likely be present in a Harrison show.