It’s well documented that Showtime and Paramount love how successful Dexter is, so much so that they’ve made four different shows of this one character. The titular serial killer is so compelling, partially because he has some kind of moral compass, guiding him to kill bad guys. However, by also being a serial killer, it creates a lot of moral ambiguity and has dire consequences for him. It’s a really compelling story that has shades of pulpy superhero tropes, such as double lives that violently intersect with each other and sinister villains who do their best to make the hero’s life a living hell.
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It’s no surprise that the Dexter franchise has been a cow worth milking for nearly 20 years now, and it seems to only get more popular as new generations discover it through streaming and social media. Of course, there does seem to be some kind of limit, as Dexter: Original Sin Season 2 was scrapped by Paramount’s new owners, despite it being critically well-received and pulling in a sizable audience on Paramount+. However, Original Sin was not the first Dexter prequel.
Dexter: Early Cuts Starring Michael C. Hall Was the Original Dexter Prequel
Back in 2009, Showtime began releasing a highly stylized series of animated shorts known as Dexter: Early Cuts to promote upcoming seasons. The show was split into three seasons, released in 2009, 2010, and 2012, respectively. The series was narrated by Michael C. Hall and chronicled some of Dexter’s earliest kills, providing backstory for some of the unseen faces that make up the collection of blood slides he hides away in his AC unit.
Each season was written by a different writer of the original series, including longtime Dexter writer/producer Scott Reynolds. The show also brought in different comic book illustrators each season to give them distinct visual styles, allowing for things to feel more moody and eye-catching. It sort of feels a bit like the cutscenes in a game like Max Payne, which also emulated a comic-book-y style.
Writer Lauren Gussis noted in a behind-the-scenes interview that the new medium also allowed the writers to pen darker storylines, such as one where a U.S. sniper violently shoots and kills a child overseas, putting him in Dexter’s own crosshairs when he returns stateside. This story even leads Dexter to take his first blood slide as a trophy. Despite the new medium, it still manages to blend Dexter’s signature dark humor with drama and thrills. Hall even does some goofy voices to disguise himself, just like in the original show.
The first season has three different victims for Dexter to take down, whereas the following two specific villains, including a copycat killer who lacks Dexter’s moral code. I don’t want to spoil any of these episodes for those who haven’t seen them, as they do pack their own twists and turns that will surprise fans. However, it’s worth noting that Dexter: Early Cuts is generally not considered to be canon. There are some inconsistencies with some of the events in the animated series and the ones in the original TV series, but they’re all fairly minor.
It’s likely these inconsistencies would’ve become more significant had Dexter: Original Sin not been cancelled, though. It’s hard to imagine the writers of that show confining themselves to whatever happened in an internet web series from 15 years ago. Nevertheless, it’s still cool that this thing exists and serves as some kind of extension of the Dexter franchise.
All of the episodes of Dexter: Early Cuts are very short, but they’re really well-made and will likely scratch an itch for anyone anxiously awaiting the release of Dexter: Resurrection Season 2. If you’re interested in watching them, you can check out this handy YouTube playlist to see them all.
Similarly, there are also two Dexter comic books published by Marvel and written by Jeff Lindsey, who penned the novels the TV show is based on. These comics aren’t connected to the show, however, so don’t expect our favorite serial killer to resemble Michael C. Hall or events from the TV show to be referenced. They’re more like successors to the books, which the show strayed from after Season 1.
What do you think of these Dexter shorts? Let me know in the comments below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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