Dexter: Original Sin Creator Breaks Silence on Shock Cancellation — And He's Furious

There is drama in Dexter-land, and not the fun kind. Clyde Phillips, the creator behind Dexter: Original Sin, just spoke out about the prequel getting axed, and he is clearly not thrilled with how it went down.

Quick recap of what went wrong

• Paramount renewed Dexter: Original Sin for a second season earlier in 2025.
• In August 2025, just a few months later, the renewal was reversed and season 2 was canceled.
• At the same time, Dexter: Resurrection kept moving forward and recently wrapped its season with a finale.
• This all happened right after Paramount closed its merger with Skydance.

Phillips on the call no showrunner wants

On the Dissecting Dexter podcast, Phillips said he had already told his writers and actors they were coming back. Then the other shoe dropped.

It was a tough phone call I got that night where they had already picked up the show. I had informed all the writers and actors, and then they unpicked it up, all while picking up Resurrection, which was no surprise. It wasn’t handled well and I’m not happy about it.

That is... blunt. And fair. Reversing a pickup after you have told your team they are coming back is a rough look.

The merger math behind the decision

This is the part where corporate strategy crashes the party. Variety reported that after the Paramount–Skydance deal closed, the new leadership re-evaluated the slate. Their call: scrap Original Sin season 2 and put resources toward Dexter: Resurrection season 2 as the path forward for the franchise.

The Yellowstone playbook that almost happened

Here is the inside baseball: before the Skydance merger, the plan was to blow Dexter out into a Yellowstone-style empire. The idea, according to Phillips, was for him to be the Taylor Sheridan of the Dexter-verse — the architect overseeing a whole constellation of projects. He had mapped out an ambitious future. Post-merger, those plans appear to be off the board.

So what now?

The franchise is not dead — just reshaped. More seasons of Dexter: Resurrection are still the plan, which should calm some nerves even if Original Sin fans are understandably annoyed.

Dexter: Original Sin and Dexter: Resurrection are both streaming on Paramount Plus.