In 2006, American crime drama, Dexter, aired in the US via Showtime. The show – which starred Michael C. Hall – followed the story of forensic technician, Dexter Morgan, who leads a double life as a vigilante serial killer, who hunts down murderers that he believes were not properly punished by the justice system.
Due to popularity of the first season of Dexter, the show was recommissioned for further seasons. Each new season expanded Dexter’s story, added new characters, and continued to push the popularity of the show.
Eventually, Dexter came to an end in 2013, but due to continued interest in the show it was later revived, via a continuation mini-series. Lead star Michael C. Hall returned for the revival show, to continue the adventures of Dexter Morgan, and this in turn led to further Dexter shows.
But if you’re not familiar with Dexter you might be asking yourself how many seasons are there, how many episodes do I need to watch, and when should you watch the continuation series?! Well, don’t worry, because in this post I am providing you with all those answers, in one easily accessible guide.
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Understanding Dexter
As noted above, Dexter began in 2006 when the first episode, ‘Dexter’, made its debut. This episode introduced Dexter Morgan, and set up the core concept of the show, captivating audiences in the process.
More instalments followed on a weekly basis, and after 12 episodes the season came to an end. But by this time, Dexter had proved to be a hit, and a second season of the show was commissioned.
In September 2007, season two of the show began airing, with another 12 episodes being broadcast. This was followed by a third season in 2008, a fourth season in 2009, and a fifth season in 2010.
In 2011, with Dexter still proving popular a sixth season began airing, with a seventh following in 2012. And then in 2013, season eight hit screens, to become the final season of the show.
The final episode of Dexter, ‘Remember the Monsters?‘, aired on September 22nd 2013. It marked the end of the road for Dexter, wrapping up a story which had taken eight seasons and 96 episodes to tell.
However, while that was officially the end of Dexter at that point in time, the show continued to remain a hit with fans. The series also sold well on home video, and proved popular in re-runs and streaming.
As such, in 2020 it was announced that another series of Dexter would be going into production, to tell a new story set after the events of the original series. The show – which hit screens in 2021 – would be a mini-series, consisting of ten episodes, would star Michael C. Hall, and would be called Dexter: New Blood.
With New Blood being well received by viewers, and essentially bringing some new blood back into the property, a third show was announced to air in 2024. This series would be a prequel show running under the title Dexter: Original Sin.
Although Original Sin was conceived as a prequel, the series used a framing story which picked up after the final scene of New Blood, before heading back to the past. Essentially, Original Sin would see Dexter Morgan thinking back on his youth, to approximately 15 years before the events of Dexter, with Michael C. Hall playing the older Dexter and Patrick Gibson playing the younger Dexter.
As with New Blood, Original Sin was popular and not only continued for a second season, but also helped to usher in a fourth Dexter show. This series – Dexter: Resurrection – would air in 2025 and act as a sequel to New Blood.
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Dexter details
In total, from 2006 onward, Dexter has clocked up four different shows, eleven seasons of television, and 136 episodes. This breaks down as follows:
- Dexter: 96 episodes (eight seasons)
- Dexter: New Blood: 10 episodes (one season)
- Dexter: Original Sin: 20 episodes (two seasons)
- Dexter: Resurrection: 10 episodes (one season)
In addition to the above, the original show was briefly accompanied by a collection of animated web-toons, which were released online between 2009 and 2012. These animated instalments ran two-minutes in length per chapter, were called Dexter: Early Cuts, and were available to view for online users.
- Dexter: Early Cuts – Season One (12 x two-minute chapters)
- Dexter: Dark Echo – Season Two (6 x two-minute chapters)
- Dexter: All in the Family – Season Three (6 x two-minute chapters)
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Watching Dexter in order
If you have never watched any of Dexter before, and you are only now just finding your way into this little universe, hopefully the following show/season list will ease you in nicely. As you will see, it is very simple to follow, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to navigate your way through.
- Dexter – Season One (2006)
- Dexter – Season Two (2007)
- Dexter – Season Three (2008)
- Dexter – Season Four (2009)
- Dexter – Season Five (2010)
- Dexter – Season Six (2011)
- Dexter – Season Seven (2012)
- Dexter – Season Eight (2013)
- Dexter: New Blood – Mini-series (2021 – 2022)
- Dexter: Original Sin – Season One (2024 – 2025)
- Dexter: Resurrection – Season One (2025)
- Dexter: Original Sin – Season Two (2025 – 2026)
Please note: Although Dexter: Original Sin is a prequel series, set before the events of the original show, it includes a framing device which picks up directly after Dexter: New Blood. As such, go from New Blood to Original Sin.
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And finally, who are the core cast of the Dexter shows?
Notable actors in the Dexter franchise include Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, C. S. Lee, Desmond Harrington, Geoff Pierson, Jimmy Smits, David Ramsey, John Lithgow, Julia Stiles, Jonny Lee Miller, Peter Weller, Mos Def, Patrick Gibson, Molly Brown, Christina Milian, Eli Sherman, James Martinez, Christian Slater, Alex Shimizu, Jack Alcott, Reno Wilson, Patrick Dempsey, Uma Thurman, and Krysten Ritter.
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about Dexter. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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