How ‘Dexter: Original Sin,’ ‘Pulse’ and Local Incentives are Putting Miami Back on the Production Map

variety.com:

Todd Longwell With the Paramount+ prequel series “Dexter: Original Sin” going back in time to explore the formative experiences of 20-year-old avenging serial killer (Patrick Gibson), there’s a hope that it will help turn back the clock for the production community in Miami, which serves as the setting for both it and the original show, “Dexter” (2006-2013).

Like its predecessor, “Dexter: Original Sin” does the bulk of its shooting in Los Angeles and Long Beach, but it’s still a good advertisement for what Miami has to offer producers. “We wanted to get the full impact of the beauty and the texture and the architecture, the water and the atmosphere that is specific in Miami,” says Danielle Blumstein, co-head of production for Counterpart Studios, which produces the series with Showtime Studios. “We looked for locations that would help ground us and kind of celebrate that city.” “Dexter” is one of several Miami-set projects that have materialized in recent months, including the Netflix medical show “Pulse,” which shoots in both Miami and Albuquerque, N.M., and Peacock’s upcoming crime thriller series “M.I.A.” A big reason for the uptick in production is the High Impact Film Fund.

Launched by Miami-Dade County in May 2024 in response to the state of Florida’s continued unwillingness to reestablish a film and TV incentive, it offers a cash rebate of up to 20%.

Productions must have a minimum budget of $5 million, base 90% of the Florida shoot in the county and have 60% of the below-the-line crew be county residents and 70% of their vendors be locally registered businesses. “The program has been a great success,” says Miami-Dade County film commissioner Marco Giron. “We’ve managed to attract large scale projects to.