The original series has been thriving on Netflix ever since its return!
The "Netflix Effect" is in full force. On June 19, Dexter seasons 1-8 returned to US Netflix after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, and in just the week of June 24 to June 30, the show garnered an impressive 1.48 billion streaming minutes in the United States alone.
A new report from Deadline provides even more precise numbers for Dexter's performance. Between its re-release on Netflix and the end of June, the first eight seasons accumulated a staggering 33.2 million views, with Season 1 alone responsible for 9.2 million views, placing it at No. 159 among all Netflix titles. Keep in mind that the Netflix data released this week only covers viewership through June 30, 2024, meaning there's still a lot of information yet to be revealed.
Paramount’s collaboration with Netflix during this period is no coincidence. It's a strategic move to amplify the Dexter franchise ahead of two upcoming projects: Dexter: Original Sin, a highly anticipated prequel set in 1991 Miami, premiering on December 13, and Dexter: Resurrection, a sequel to Dexter: New Blood, set to debut in the summer of 2025. The aim is to attract a new, younger audience by reigniting interest in the original series.
To facilitate this, a one-year licensing agreement was signed, allowing Netflix to stream the original eight seasons.
It's worth noting that Dexter (along with Dexter: New Blood) had previously been available on Paramount+, where it never achieved such high visibility. Neither series made it onto the Nielsen charts until their Netflix release.
As recently as the week of August 19, Dexter was still appearing on the list of most-watched acquired titles, according to the latest Nielsen report.