Original Sin’ wastes great cast on stale thrills: review

Get out your plastic wrap.

The hit serial killer drama “Dexter” has returned, with a prequel series about Dexter’s younger years. 

Called “Dexter: Original Sin,” it premieres Friday, Dec 13 (on Paramount+ with Showtime) and has its linear debut Sunday, Dec. 15 (10 p.m. on Showtime).

Set in 1990s Miami, the series follows a twentysomething Dexter (Patrick Gibson, “The OA”) as he evolves from med school student into the iconic serial killer from the original show. 

The cast is rounded out by Christian Slater as Dexter’s policeman father, Harry, and Patrick Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar as cops who work with Harry — and later Dexter, as the latter begins his internship at the Miami Metro Police Department. 

“Dexter: Original Sin” is entertaining enough if you’re a “Dexter” fan. It’s got great performances and delivers some stale thrills — but with an emphasis on stale.

The original “Dexter” was Showtime’s biggest hit, airing for eight seasons from 2006 to 2013. The story followed Dexter (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer whose cop father, Harry (James Remar), taught him to channel his urges into only targeting fellow killers as his victims. In 2021, it had a sequel series, “Dexter: New Blood,” following Dexter years after the events of the show.

In the original show, Dexter worked by day as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. His colleagues included his adopted sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), the stylish Detective Angel Batista (David Zayas), and obnoxious lab tech Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee). 

The strongest part of “Dexter: Original Sin” is its cast. Gibson was great in the underrated Netflix series “The OA,” so it’s nice to see him get a star vehicle, and he captures Hall’s demeanor well. (Hall returns as an exec producer, and he lends his voice-over to Dexter’s inner thoughts, just as he did for the original show). 

Slater is stellar, and he carries much of the show’s emotional weight.

Dempsey, on the other hand, is saddled with playing his role as a blowhard to a sometimes absurd extent. At one point, the character says to his team, “I’m not a proud mama, fellas. I am one pissed-off menopausal bitch!” 

It strains credibility that any boss would talk to his subordinates like that — even a cop in the ’90s. Nevertheless, it’s fun to see Dempsey, the “sexiest man alive,” lean into such an outlandish part. 

Younger versions of Batista (James Martinez) and Masuka (Alex Shimizu) are spot-on, with the latter in particular nailing Masuka’s mannerisms, right down to his annoying giggle.

For “Dexter” fans who just want to see younger versions of the characters — or who just want to see Dempsey and Slater chewing scenery — “Original Sin” is a treat. 

The problem is the writing. Even the best cast can’t fix that. 

First of all, this show doesn’t seem to have figured out what its point is for existing. (Obviously to make Showtime and Paramount money, but a show shouldn’t feel like a cynical cash grab).

The original “Dexter” extensively covered his childhood. Not much of Dexter’s life is unexplored. So, the prequel series is left answering uninteresting questions that nobody asked, such as “Did Bautista still wear that hat when he was younger?” (The answer: yes).

In lieu of saying anything fresh, “Dexter: Original Sin” is filled with imitations. 

Shimizu mimics the original Masuka well, so the actor can’t be faulted for that. But what’s the point of showing us an impression of an annoying side character from “Dexter”? That isn’t a compelling story. 

“Dexter: Original Sin” gives us with more of the same: Dexter being a fun bad guy who goes after worse bad guys. There was an edgy charm to the original show. “Dexter: Original Sin” has that charm, to a certain extent. You may be satisfied, if that’s all you want. 

But how many times can we watch Dexter kill a worse killer? It gets old after the 600th time. “Original Sin” isn’t much of an origin story, either, because by the end of the first episode, he’s already most of the way there to being the “Dexter” we know.

A truly compelling origin story would start with the character in a vastly different place than the original show. In the criminally underrated 2014 pirate show “Black Sails,” Long John Silver (Luke Arnold) had a fantastic origin story where he was unrecognizable at the start, and evolved into the famous literary character over the series. Whether you love or hate “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power,” even that show understood this about origin stories.

In “Original Sin,” making Dexter an intern rather than a full-time employee at the Miami Metro PD is hardly “vastly different.” He’s not given much room to change, since he’s pretty much the same Dexter we know, just younger.

And, similar to the “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon,” this show is hurt by the knowledge  that the original “Dexter” had one of the worst series finales among shows of the aughts. It’s nice to see young Deb (Molly Brown), but her awful, undignified exit from the original “Dexter” casts a shadow. 

“Dexter: Original Sin” isn’t unwatchable. It’s filled with entertaining performances, but the story feels like it’s beating a dead horse, rather than offering up an exciting prequel that has a compelling reason to exist. And even Dexter, a serial killer, would never beat a dead horse. He had better taste than that.