In a season that ended with yet another polarizing finale, arguably more so than the original’s, Dexter: New Blood left many fans unsatisfied. Luckily for them, Dexter’s not the only complex vigilante to grace the small screen in recent years.
From shows focused on chilling serial killers to characters with internal monologues who are hiding their true nature, there are plenty of series out there for fans of Dexter to find enjoyment in. These are the shows that have the most in common with the killer from Miami’s escapades.
You
You follows Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a bookstore manager and hopeless romantic… to a deadly fault. Over the course of the show, he tries to manufacture the feeling of true love by stalking, framing, and attacking whoever gets in his way of a perfect relationship.
The psychological thriller originally started on Lifetime and was picked up by Netflix after its first season. Though the majority of the characters rotate season by season, some notable cast members include Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars), Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House), and Jenna Ortega (Scream).
Fargo
Set in the same universe as the movie Fargo, the anthology series takes place in different eras for each season. With only minor story overlap, the main thing connecting each season are characters who commit violence, often unintentionally, and the law officers looking to solve these crimes.
Created by Noah Hawley (Legion), Fargo has a wide spectrum of quirky characters. The show has had a range of actors including Martin Freeman (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), and in one of his best roles, Ted Danson (The Good Place).
Bloodline
Set in the Florida Keys, Bloodline tells the story of a family haunted by their past. When everyone finally seems to have moved on with their lives, the black sheep of the family, Danny Rayburn (Ben Mendelsohn), returns to stir up memories again during the 45th anniversary of his parents’ seaside hotel.
The show begins as a slow burn, slowly picking up the pace season by season, as more and more secrets are revealed. The rest of the family includes Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Linda Cardellini (Dead To Me), Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff), and Sissy Spacek (Carrie).
Killing Eve
Killing Eve stars Sandra Oh in one of her best roles as Eve Polastri, a bored, desk-bound British intelligence agent obsessed with female serial killers. Under her superior Carolyn Martens (Fiona Shaw), Eve’s allowed to follow that obsession and begins a cat and mouse chase of psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer).
Notably, season 1’s showrunner was Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), and season 2’s showrunner was Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). The rest of the cast includes Kim Bodnia (The Witcher) and Sean Delaney (Venom: Let There Be Carnage).
The Americans
Set during the Reagan administration, The Americans is about deep-cover Soviet spies and their unsuspecting, American-born children. The show begins when, immediately after a mission goes wrong, an FBI counter-intelligence agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) and his family move in next door.
The show stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as “Elizabeth” and “Philip” (their American aliases) and ran for six seasons on FX. Other notable members of the cast include Costa Ronin (Homeland), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), and one of the best character actors of all time, Margo Martindale (August: Osage County).
Ozark
In Ozark, Jason Bateman plays against his type as Marty Byrde, a Chicago-based financial advisor for a Mexican drug cartel. When his operation goes south, Marty scrambles to find a solution for the cartel, leading him to move his family to the Lake of the Ozarks region to set up a larger laundering scheme.
In addition to acting in it, Bateman has also directed multiple episodes of the show. The rest of the cast includes Laura Linney (The Truman Show) as his wife Wendy, Julia Garner (Maniac), Charlie Tahan (I Am Legend), and Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs).
True Detective
An anthology series following police investigations that dredge up often decades-old secrets, True Detective takes place in Louisiana during the first season, California during the second, and Missouri/Arkansas during the third. Each season uses non-linear or interweaving storylines to layout their increasingly sinister stories.
Many publications, including Rolling Stone, saw the third season as a return to form, after a dismally reviewed second season. Over the show’s run, it has starred Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar), Woody Harrelson (Zombieland), Colin Farrell (In Bruges), and Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) amongst others.
Hannibal
Based on the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal tracks the relationship between Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI profiler, and Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), his psychiatrist (and serial killer). As Will’s mental state deteriorates, Hannibal takes advantage of his patient to manipulate the FBI from within.
The show was canceled after its third season but has steadily grown a cult following. Outside Mikkelsen, in one of his best English-speaking roles, and Dancy, the cast includes Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), and Raúl Esparza (Law & Order: SVU).
Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot is narrated by Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer who moonlights as a hacker and suffers from social anxiety disorder and depression. The show begins as Elliot is recruited by a group of hacktivists called “fsociety” to destroy debt records by encrypting the data of E Corp, the world’s largest conglomerate.
Originally conceptualized as a feature film, the show ran for four seasons on USA Network. In addition to Malek, Mr. Robot features performances from Christian Slater (True Romance), Carly Chaikin (Suburgatory), Portia Doubleday (Youth in Revolt), and BD Wong (Jurassic Park).
Mindhunter
Produced by David Fincher (Zodiac), Mindhunter dramatizes the origins of the Behavioral Science Unit in the FBI. Led by agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), as well as psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), they study incarcerated serial killers with the hopes of using this information to solve ongoing investigations.
With the BSU’s team inspired by real people, the serial killers portrayed in the show are direct depictions. The rogues’ gallery includes performances from Cameron Britton (The Umbrella Academy) as Ed Kemper, Happy Anderson (Snowpiercer) as Jerry Brudos, and Oliver Cooper (Project X) as David Berkowitz.
