Dexter prequel creator criticizes show’s renewal and cancellation

Fans of Dexter were crushed when the second season of the spinoff Dexter: Original Sin was canceled last month, just four months after Paramount had ordered a new season. Creator and showrunner Clyde Phillips shares their disappointment and didn’t hold back about how the situation was handled.

“It was a tough phone call that night,” Phillips said on a recent episode of the Dissecting Dexter podcast. “I had already informed the writers and actors that the show was picked up, only to be told it was canceled shortly after — while Resurrection was getting renewed, which wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t handled well, and I’m definitely not happy about it.”

The cancellation came after Paramount underwent leadership changes following its high-profile merger with Skydance. Clearly, not everyone agrees with the decision — including fans, who have begun campaigning for the studio to reverse course. However, Phillips doesn’t expect Paramount to reconsider.

In fact, the cancellation signals a scaling back of Paramount’s ambitions for the Dexter franchise. Before the Skydance merger, the studio had envisioned building a Yellowstone-style franchise around Dexter, with Phillips playing a role similar to Taylor Sheridan’s as the public face and creative lead of that universe.

Plans had been laid out for an expanded Dexter roadmap and future projects, but those appear to be shelved indefinitely. The only remaining piece of the rebooted franchise is Dexter: Resurrection, which is reportedly still slated for a second season—though nothing has been officially confirmed yet.