Phillips and his writers had “a couple years” of Original Sin plotted out, with ideas for younger versions of Doakes (played by Erik King in the original series and Resurrection) and Capt. Matthews (Geoff Pierson in Dexter) and exploring the relationship between Dexter and Brian (Roby Attal), Dexter’s biological brother who becomes the primary antagonist in season one of the original series. In his recap of the premiere of The A.V. Club, Brian Tallerico noted that Original Sin—which starred Patrick Gibson as young Dexter—revists a lot of lore that was referenced in the flagship show. “So seeing it all played out sometimes feels a bit like watching a community theater version of a play you know by heart,” he wrote. “It also doesn’t help at all that several of the major players seem miscast or poorly directed at best.”
Nevertheless, it was enough to earn a second season renewal—at first. Former Showtime head and Paramount co-CEO Chris McCarthy wanted Phillips “to be his new Taylor Sheridan,” Phillips said on the podcast. He spent a year with a writers room completing 10 scripts for a spin-off about John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer, plus an additional 10 scripts for a show following Dexter’s son Harrison. The latter would have taken Harrison in a “completely different direction than where he ended up in Resurrection, because Dexter wasn’t involved,” Phillips teased (via Variety).
But between Original Sin‘s initial renewal and the cancellation, Paramount completed its merger with Skydance, and McCarthy left the company. Apparently, the new regime isn’t that interested in the Dexter-verse. “Trinity is on the back burner, and I don’t think they’re going to go for it,” Phillips admitted. “If they canceled Original Sin, which is a built-in hit, how are they going to pick up Trinity? If they do, I’d be delighted, but I don’t see them doing it.”
