Tv historical past is wealthy with characters who assist narrate and form the story, reliably or in any other case, relationship again to the first “Dragnet” in the Fifties and “The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis” (1959-1963), and persevering with with such staples as “The Marvel Years,” “Intercourse and the Metropolis,” “How I Met Your Mom” and newer entries together with “You” and “Reservation Canines.” My favourite efficiency of the style is Michael C. Corridor’s darkish, brooding, droll, and sensible work in the “Dexter” universe, which continues with the blood-spattered and wildly entertaining (if sometimes bat-bleep bonkers) “Dexter: Resurrection.”

Corridor returns to prime kind as the signature character of his profession, with Dexter sharing his ideas with us through inside narration, hallucinations of pivotal characters from his previous, and the regular presence of his late father Harry, performed with a form of ghostly heat by James Remar. (In fact, Harry is a manifestation of Dexter’s unconscious, that means each Corridor and Remar are a combo-platter narrator.) 4 of the 10 episodes of “Resurrection” had been made accessible for evaluate, and the excellent news for hardcore “Dexter” followers is that this newest iteration is rooted firmly in the haunting and bleak basis of the unique sequence.

“Dexter: Resurrection” picks up in the aftermath of the occasions of “Dexter: New Blood,” which discovered Dexter Morgan residing as “Jim Lindsay” for 10 years in the quiet city of Iron Lake in upstate New York earlier than his cowl was blown and he was shot in the chest by his son Harrison (Jack Alcott). We assumed Dexter was lifeless and that was that—however we wouldn’t have a brand new batch of bloody adventures if that had been the case, so we simply must go along with the admittedly contrived however unavoidable gimmick that finds Dexter clinging to life in and experiencing some fantastically entertaining visions earlier than he emerges from a 10-week coma.

What now? As one voice from the previous tells Dexter, “The place you went fallacious was pondering you possibly can have all of it. A household, and your Darkish Passenger.” Ought to Dexter attempt to discover and reconnect with Harrison, or slip into the ether and return to the lengthy and lonely and lethal way of life by “The Code,” i.e., killing solely those that are so wicked they’ve it coming?

With eager use of on-location set items, kinetic modifying, and beautiful needle drops together with “Dangerous Selections” by the Strokes and “Purple Proper Hand” by Nick Cave & the Dangerous Seeds setting a Rotten Huge Apple tone, New York Metropolis turns into the major setting for the sequence, with Dexter monitoring however retaining a protected distance from Harrison, who now works as a bell attendant at the the Empire Resort (good callback to Harrison’s mom Rita working as a concierge at a Miami resort), and making an attempt to suppress his personal troubling visions and flashbacks. (Alcott has stepped up his recreation significantly right here from his work in “New Blood,” making a likable if deeply troubled character who might need inherited extra of his father’s DNA than he’d need to admit.)

Whereas Dexter takes a job that might function a potential car for him to return to what he does finest, Harrison tries to take pleasure in his shut friendship with co-worker Elsa Rivera (a beautiful Emilia Suárez), stay a standard life, and keep out of bother. Good luck with that, kiddo.

In step with “Dexter” custom, the guest-star roster is deep and extremely gifted, with Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet, Neil Patrick Harris, and David Dastmalchian all creating memorable turns in various quantities of display screen time. Amongst the standout new common solid members: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine as Blessing Kamara, a rideshare driver who offers Dexter invaluable recommendation and welcomes Dexter into his household, and Kadia Saraf as Det. Claudette Wallace, who blasts “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees from her circumaural headphones as she investigates crime scenes with meticulous obsession. (“She sees issues in methods we don’t,” says her companion, performed by Dominic Fusa, to some fellow cops.) We additionally get the most welcome return of David Zayas as Angel Batista, who has solely not too long ago discovered that his previous good friend and Miami Metro PD colleague, Dexter, didn’t perish in Hurricane Laura all these years in the past.

The cinematography in “Resurrection” is exquisitely disturbing. The interiors of the resort are bathed in autumnal tones of inexperienced, gold, and brown, which must be soothing however are in some way unsettling, as if the pleasure has been robbed from these hallways. A return go to to a cleaned-up crime scene is framed in evident reds, as if the very partitions will all the time be blood-stained. Manufacturing design is especially notable in an prolonged sequence in Episode 4 that’s WTF-level macabre. In fact, all of this stuff are window dressing to reinforce Corridor’s simmering work as Dexter. He’s Darkish Kent—an excellent anti-hero who doesn’t put on a cape however will bundle you up in plastic wrap and finish you if you happen to deserve it.

“Dexter: Resurrection” will debut with two episodes on Friday, July 11 on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, earlier than its on-air debut Sunday, July 13 at 8:00 pm ET/PT. Remaining episodes will premiere weekly. 4 of the 10 episodes had been screened for evaluate.