'Dexter: Original Sin'

What is it with companies slashing shows way too soon? The prequel, Dexter: Original Sin, is the latest victim of an early grave. Paramount definitely has the pockets to keep the prequel running, yet Matt Thunell specifically has sent it to the chopping block despite its strong viewership turnout and after already being renewed for a second season.

On the other side of things, after Dexter: New Blood setting up for Dexter: Resurrection, Paramount will be focusing on the new show instead. Which, if you haven't watched either of them I do suggest doing so. There are still two more episodes left to air at my time of writing this. Cancellation aside, I very much enjoyed seeing young Dexter. Patrick Gibson did a fabulous job at portraying the young dark passenger. I believe young Deb is written a bit too coarsely. The original series Deb did have quite the mouth on her, but I don't think they should've pushed that full force on a teenage Deb.

When will these companies give new series a real chance? If it doesn't start out with a large audience I believe that's a marketing issue most times and not a quality issue. Take Happy Face, for example. Another series on Paramount Plus that recently was sent to die as well. This is based on the true story of Melissa Moore's serial killer father dubbed the "Happy Face Killer". The only place I had ever seen this being advertised was specifically on Paramount's scrolling ads which were inside the app. I did watch the show though and heavily enjoyed it, but their low numbers sent it six feet under. Why wasn't this as heavily marketed as other series?

Advertising is obviously key to being in the streaming world and will contribute to the success of it. Why waste money, time, and resources on producing a whole series if you aren't going to help push it out into the world? You can't simply release it and hope for the best. This is where finding that circle of influencers can do good for the industry.

If Happy Face paid true crime podcasters, YouTubers and even TikTok creators to advertise the series it could've done these numbers they were looking for. They even had Dennis Quaid on this project, come on. I know that man cannot be too cheap either. Creators such as Rotten Mango (Stephanie Soo), Last Podcast on the Left, and even Bailey Sarian could've been contacted to make content on this. I'm sure there are more true crime creators but personally, these are my most listened to. Even as you are reading this I am listening to Rotten Mango's newest episode.

To make a long winded story short, for the love of God, give new series their time. Can you at least wait until after a second season? We wait years just for 8 to 10 episodes. You know what, bring back the 20 episode series of shows. Give us more!

*I want to make a very important note that I believe in utilizing influencers who make sense to a scene. I do not enjoy and am in exhaustion from TikTokers being invited to notorious A list events. Why are TikTokers being invited to the MET Gala? That paired with seeing them at music award shows is so jarring and I definitely don't mean that in a good way. In the current climate today, followers on social media make who you are as a person... to some. I long for the day we get back to casting directors and the industry as a whole choosing people based on their talent factor and not how many followers they have on Instagram. Lets bring back casting auditions and open casting calls please.