Although Dexter’s prequel Original Sin and its revival proves the series is still popular, it must be frustrating for a show to be outdone by a series that merely shares its general premise.
10 Moments Where We Stopped Loving Dexter Morgan
While viewers may still be able to love Dexter Morgan despite his serial killing habits, other actions were just a step too far for audiences.
2018’s Barry is not a sequel to Dexter, nor is it related to the Dexter reboot Resurrection. However, HBO's Bill Hader vehicle does have a lot in common with the earlier Showtime hit. Based on the novel series of the same name by author Jeff Lindsay, Dexter is a blackly comic crime drama about a traumatized serial killer who only murders serial killers and abides by a strict, but entirely self-created, moral code. In comparison, Barry is another darkly comic drama about a traumatized hitman who tries to balance contract killing to focus on his ion for acting.
How Barry Was A Spiritual Successor To Dexter
Barry and Dexter Both Explored Killer Antiheroes With Dark Hearts
Both Dexter and Barry focus on killer title characters who balance their secret lives, striving to improve even though can’t stop killing others for a variety of reasons. Barry and Dexter share a pitch-black sense of humor and an uneven, jumpy tone that takes some getting used to for new viewers. Both shows also center on their title characters trying to hide their double lives from innocent people who, in their eyes, might someday help them live normal lives. Barry is a spiritual successor to Dexter, building on the show’s best qualities.
Unfortunately for Dexter, this also means that Barry avoided the earlier show’s pitfalls. Where Dexter’s infamous plot twists were occasionally cringe-worthy, Barry had a more grounded tone that allowed room for plenty of drama and action but rarely felt unintentionally outlandish. Barry embraced absurdity and deadpan humor while never shying away from the harsh reality of killing, whereas Dexter tended to glamorize the antics of its title character in later seasons. While Dexter’s lesser storylines featured ridiculous plot twists, Barry turned the show’s sharp satirical eye on the show itself in later seasons.
Dexter Was Great, But Barry Was A Much Better TV Show
Barry Had A More Complex And Nuanced Title Character
While Dexter became sillier as the show went on, Barry got a lot darker. What began as a somewhat farcical comedy became an existential nightmare with only fleeting moments of comedic relief, but this gradual tonal shift was to the show’s benefit. Barry did what both Dexter and Breaking Bad couldn’t, beginning as a quirky crime drama with comedic elements and flashes of real darkness and gradually morphing into a pitch-black drama with some scenes of pure horror. In doing so, Barry touched on real-life issues like PTSD, addiction, and trauma with more nuance than Dexter.
Unlike Dexter, Barry provided its murderous antihero with a tragic character arc that had a fitting, compelling conclusion.
Dexter was a fun series precisely because the show was so over-the-top, but Barry’s ending proved that ’s infamous ending truly was as bad as critics claimed. Unlike Dexter, Barry provided its murderous antihero with a tragic character arc that had a fitting, compelling conclusion. Dexter repeatedly refused to kill off the show’s hero for good but still wanted to hold onto its high stakes, whereas Barry often killed off major characters to prove the show’s commitment to treating violence with comparative realism. Barry’s edge sharpened as it continued, whereas Dexter’s edge dulled as the show went on.
Barry Avoided The Mistakes Dexter Made With Its Ending
Barry’s Ending Was A Perfect Conclusion To The Acclaimed Series
Barry’s beginning as a broad comedy ensured that the series could surprise viewers by growing gradually darker and deeper, whereas Dexter’s strong start worked against the show’s later seasons. As viewers became more attached to Dexter, the show went to increasingly silly extremes to ensure his double life stayed secret. In contrast, Barry season 4 saw the story of Hader’s protagonist get increasingly dark with each ing episode. Where the latter began as a silly show and grew more serious, Dexter took the opposite route.
For all Dexter’s positive attributes, the show as a whole can’t compete with Hader’s magnum opus.
Although Dexter had a lot going for it and the franchise remains popular judging by its additions, Barry was a sharper take on a similar theme. Barry’s story is a perfect fit for anyone hoping to replace Dexter, but it is tough to ignore how much more tonally cohesive the series was than its more outwardly dramatic predecessor. For all Dexter’s positive attributes, the show as a whole can’t compete with Hader’s magnum opus. Even as the Dexter franchise grows its reboots and prequels, Barry remains a stronger exploration of the same morally ambiguous themes.
- Network
- HBO Max
- Cast
- Charles Parnell, Christopher Marquette, Dale Pavinski, Miguel Sandoval, Laura San Giacomo
- Seasons
- 4
- Streaming Service(s)
- MAX
