Clyde Phillips on how the Taylor Sheridan-verse inspired the ‘Dexter’ franchise expansion

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from Showtime’s Dexter: The Original Sin premiere episode.

Everyone’s favorite serial killer Dexter Morgan is back in the premiere of Showtime’s Dexter: Original Sin, the franchise’s first prequel, which is currently streaming via Paramount+ with Showtime.

From creator Clyde Phillips, showrunner on the first four seasons of the OG series Dexter, Original sin takes place in 1991 Miami. It follows a young Dexter (Patrick Gibson) as he goes from student to vengeful serial killer. As his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness.

With the guidance of his father, Harry (Christian Slater), he adopts a code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on the radar of law enforcement. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensic internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.

Speaking with Deadline at a junket and the show’s premiere in New York City this week, Phillips revealed what inspired him to travel back in time and expand the universe.

“After we wrote (Dexter: New blood), Chris McCarthy of Paramount and MTV Entertainment came in and said, ‘You know, I’m one Yellowstone dude. I do prequels not sequels eg 1883 and 1923.’ As it turns out, I had seen Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923; I just love those shows,” Phillips shared.

“So Chris asked if I could come up with a prequel in the next 10 days. I sat down with a couple of writers and we were really excited about the opportunity to go back to the roots and find out how Dexter is destined to be who he is,” he added.

Phillips notes that after showing Showtime’s Gary Levine and McCarthy their work, the latter said, “Go ahead, phenomenal. Let’s do it.”

To further connect to the Taylor Sheridan verse, Phillps revealed that they used Yellowstone‘s casting directors, John Papsidera and Kim Winther’s company to cast Original sin.

Michael C. Hall, who famously played grown-up Dexter in the mothership series, committed to the prequel as executive producer and the show’s narrator, it was announced at SDCC earlier this year. He also makes a brief appearance in the premiere episode of Original sin shows the connection between it and New Blood.

“I don’t see how we could have done this without Michael’s participation,” Phillips shared. “Michael is the executive producer of this show, and he brings us home. It keeps the audience coming back. When you hear Michael’s voice, you lean in. And I want the audience to lean in throughout the show. “

He continued: “Michael C. Hall’s voice also has humor and resonance. You get the sense that Patrick Gibson is destined to be Dexter, there’s no escaping it. Because we hear Michael’s voice and see Patrick, if you know OG show, you know Dexter survives, and that’s important. It gives us more chances for more storytelling.”

The Original sin premiere “And in the Beginning…,” picks up moments after the events of New Blood after Dexter is shot by his now grown son Harrison (Jack Alcott). While the finale led viewers to believe that Dexter was dead, it was never confirmed. This tactic was definitely used to see if there was an appetite for more stories, and there absolutely was. The limited series was named Showtime’s most-watched series in history, averaging over 8 million weekly viewers across all of the premium cable station’s platforms.

Back to the premiere of Original sinDexter’s body is found after being shot and taken in a police car to the local hospital in the small fictional town of Iron Lake, New York, where he had been living as a clerk at the local wilderness store, Jim Lindsay. As a side note, the last name of Lindsay is a nod to author Jeff Lindsay, who wrote the series of novels that inspired the mothership series that ran for 8 seasons from 2006 to 2013.

Present-day Dexter ends up in the emergency room in critical condition, his survival looking bleaker by the minute. Suddenly, things take a turn for the better as the doctors revive the serial killer’s heartbeat.

“It really is, as they say, your life flashes before your eyes…” Dexter says as the scene revolves around the moment of his birth.

“To a large extent, it’s what we’ve accomplished and what we set out to do,” Phillips said of the unique approach to tying the shows together. “One hundred years ago I wanted to end (Dexter) with him on the execution table with his life flashing before his eyes, but it never happened. In a weird way, we have to make it happen anyway.”

Although it may be possible to begin your Dexter franchise travel with Original sinwould it be best to binge Dexter and thereafter New Bloodin that order. After Original sin is over, it will make room for the new series, Resurrectionwhich will go into production in early 2025. To be clear, Resurrection takes place today and will play Hall with narration by Gibson.

Original sin also stars Reno Wilson, Christina Milian, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Molly Brown, Alex Shimizu and James Martinez.

For fans of the original series, there are plenty of Easter eggs scattered throughout Season 1. By going back in time, the writers are able to settle theories once and for all, like Dexter’s true parentage, which will be addressed in a later episode.

“It was liberating; there’s so much secrecy in a serial killer show,” he said with a smile when asked how he felt about solving the theories. “For people who like Easter eggs, this is an Easter egg hunt. In the writers’ room, we feel really good about this. There’s a scene where — wait, I can’t give it away. People from the past, their presence is felt, known or secretly seen in this show. And since we’re set in two time periods, we can do flashbacks in our own show. We’re in 1991, but flashback to 1973 and see Harry and Laura Moser meet, learn about their affair and meet Baby Dexter. You learn what has become folklore; which is that Dexter is truly destined and there is nothing he can do about it.” Phillips concluded.