What To Remember Before Watching ‘Dexter: Resurrection’

Get ready to see one of TV’s most complex and beloved antiheroes back on your screens: Dexter Morgan, the famous fictional serial killer played by Michael C. Hall, is back.

“Dexter” ran from 2006 to 2013, following the titular character’s double life as a blood splatter analyst working for the Miami Police Department and pursuing his own bloody hobby.

Since the finale, “Dexter” has returned with a series of reboots. “Dexter: New Blood” (2021) tracks the serial killer’s life after faking his own death, including a reunion with his long-lost son. “Dexter: Original Sin” (2024) is a prequel going back to Dexter’s childhood. The latest reboot, “Dexter: Resurrection,” kicks off where “New Blood” left off.

The series will debut with two episodes on Friday, July 11 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, before its on-air debut Sunday, July 13 at 8 pm ET/PT on Showtime. The remaining episodes will premiere weekly.

Here’s everything fans need to remember ahead of “Resurrection.”

What happens in ‘Dexter: New Blood’?

“New Blood” finds Dexter living under an alias in the small town of Iron Lake, New York, 10 years after faking his own death in the original series finale.

It only takes one episode before Dexter’s now-teenage son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), tracks him down after learning he’s still alive. We finally get to see a relationship between the two play out.

While trying to lay low as an employee of a local sporting gear store under the name Jim Lindsay, he meets customer Matt Caldwell. Matt’s recklessness reignite Dexter’s murderous tendencies. Dexter kills Matt, then learns, in the aftermath, his father is a serial killer (and Dexter kills him too, of course).

Jennifer Carpenter also reprised her role as Dexter’s adoptive sister, Deb, taking the form of hallucinations following her death in the original series.

Where does ‘Dexter: New Blood’ leave off?

The series finale of “New Blood” gave Dexter more of a clear-cut, if depressing, ending — we last saw him bleeding out from a gunshot wound inflicted by none other than his son, Harrison.

In the lead up to this moment, Dexter kills Iron Lake’s police chief, Logan, an innocent person who is about to arrest him for the murder of Matt Caldwell.

This, among many other decisions of Dexter’s this season, infuriates Harrison, who then only sees Dexter as a liability.

From watching him violate his own code to seeing his dark passenger on full display, it’s here Harrison truly understands, and despises, the depths of his dad’s darkness, leading him to shoot Dexter.

What’s the deal with Dexter’s son, Harrison?

Fans of the “Dexter”-verse can never forget the shocking death of Harrison’s mother (Dexter’s wife, Rita) at the hands of the Arthur Mitchell, better known as the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow), in Season 4 of the original series.

Later on in Season 7, Dexter finds love again with Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), another serial killer. They plan to leave Miami with a then-infant Harrison to start a new life … but Dexter cuts all ties with them after his sister Deb’s death.

Deb suffers a stroke after being shot by Oliver Saxon, a serial killer dubbed the Brain Surgeon, one of the most vicious villains in the entire series.

Left in a vegetative state, Dexter takes Deb off life support. He then fakes his own death by driving his boat into a hurricane, thinking Hannah and Harrison are better off without him.

Hannah and Harrison move to Argentina. She later dies of pancreatic cancer, leaving Harrison parentless again.

Fast forward to “New Blood” and Harrison is now a teenager, one with whom Dexter has a complex relationship. Dexter believes he sees a dark passenger in his son.

What is Harry’s Code and how has it changed?

Let’s take a second to remember the rules of Harry’s Code, which will get even more blurred this upcoming season.

The code is Dexter’s adoptive dad’s way of controlling his son’s homicidal urges. Harry’s Code boils down to the following precepts:

• Never get caught, never kill an innocent, targets must be killers, killing must serve a purpose, blend in, control urges, leave no trace, never make a scene, don’t get personal and no preemptive killing.

Dr. Vogel (Charlotte Rampling), a neuropsychiatrist who studied psychopaths, was the person who actually devised Harry’s code early on, which would come to define Dexter’s entire morality of killing. She too, eventually dies at the hands her own son, Oliver Saxon (whose real name is Daniel Vogel).

We see Dexter truly lose his head in “New Blood,” killing out of impulse and revenge rather than the guidelines of the code.

What is ‘Dexter: Resurrection’ going to be about?

But wait! He lives! “Resurrection” takes place just weeks after the final events of “New Blood,” and Dexter sets out for New York City to find Harrison in an attempt to make things right.

The season features new and familiar faces. Dexter’s past as Miami’s Bay Harbor Butcher will catch up to him, bringing Detective Angel Batista (David Zayas) back into the picture.

Among the new characters? Peter Dinklage plays a billionaire named Leon Prater; Uma Thurman is Charley, his head of security. Also making appearances are Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet and Krysten Ritter as a serial killer.

There’s a lot on the line, with fans hoping for a more satisfying end to Dexter’s story than the original finale provided.