A wave of new viewers is discovering Dexter, and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by the network.
Dexter has officially entered its nineteenth year, and with its twentieth anniversary landing on October 1st, 2026, it’s hard not to feel a little stunned at how quickly the time has gone by. What’s even more remarkable is that a series that premiered nearly two decades ago is not only a big part of the cultural conversation, but in fact is actively expanding with new episodes.
In many ways, the Dexter franchise is enjoying a level of popularity that surpasses even the peak years of the original run, which saw its ratings climb season after season. But this resurgence isn’t happening in a vacuum. Social media has played a huge role in intorducing Dexter to new audiences, turning certain moments and characters into viral material.
Sergeant James Doakes, in particular, has become a... digital icon, with the “Surprise, Motherf**ker” meme remaining one of the internet’s earliest and most enduring classics. His attitude makes him the perfect catalyst for a new wave of online attention, and each new meme (2025 has generated plenty of new ones) only fuels more curiosity about the show.
This online revival has naturally attracted Gen Z, a generation raised on internet culture and short-form content. Born between 1997 and 2012, they grew up surrounded by social platforms that reward iconic characters, making Dexter an ideal show for them to latch onto. And now, thanks to Paramount+’s publicity team, this rising wave of young fans even has a name: the “Dexter Nexters.”
Clyde Phillips, executive producer and showrunner, recently spoke about this unexpected but welcome trend. He shared how surreal it feels when he’s out wearing a Dexter shirt and someone in their early twenties approaches him, thinking he's just a fan, and not a person involved directly with the show.
This just shows how far the series has traveled across generations. Many of these new fans were toddlers, infants, or not yet born when Dexter first aired, yet they connect with it as strongly as those who watched it live week to week.
While Dexter originally resonated most with Gen X and Millennial viewers, the landscape is obviously shifting. And with fresh episodes still on the way and a rapidly growing fanbase spanning multiple generations, it feels like the legacy of Dexter is only getting stronger, and justifiably so.