Dexter revival won’t undo the series finale but it will make things right

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It was announced just yesterday that Showtime would be bringing Dexter back for a new ten-part limited-series, which came as a welcome surprise for many fans, particularly those who were disappointed by the series finale back in 2013. "Dexter is such a special series, both for its millions of fans and for Showtime, as this breakthrough show helped put our network on the map many years ago," said Gary Levine, Co-President of Entertainment at Showtime, in a statement. "We would only revisit this unique character if we could find a creative take that was truly worthy of the brilliant, original series. Well, I am happy to report that Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall have found it, and we can’t wait to shoot it and show it to the world."

Clyde Phillips, who served as showrunner and executive producer of the first four seasons of Dexter, is back in charge, and he dropped a few teases about the revival series while speaking on TV's Top 5 podcast. Phillips said that although the new season won't be undoing anything that happened during the show's eight seasons, it will give them the opportunity to craft a second finale that will hopefully be more satisfying.

We basically do get to start from scratch. We want this to not be Dexter Season 9. Ten years, or however many years, have passed by the time this will air, and the show will reflect that time passage. So far as the ending of the show, this will have no resemblance to how the original finale was. It’s a great opportunity to write a second finale. This is an opportunity to make that right. But that’s not why we’re doing it. We’re not undoing anything. We’re not going to betray the audience and say, ‘Whoops, that was all a dream.’ What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years.

While I didn't hate the final season of Dexter as much as some people did, there was certainly room for improvement, and I've got my fingers crossed that Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall can pull off this second chance at a conclusion.

How did the previous finale come to a close? Well, here's your SPOILER warning! The original series finale of Dexter found the titular serial killer pulling the plug on his comatose sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) and dropping her body into the ocean before driving his boat into a tropical storm and faking his death. He had also sent his son Harrison and love interest Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski) to Argentina, promising that he would meet up with them later, but the final shots of the series found Dexter working for a lumber company in Oregon and looking miserable with his new beard.  Not that anyone asked, but here's my prediction for the basic premise of this revival season: A now teenage Harrison tracks Dexter down for help dealing with his own dark passenger, as well as confront his father about abandoning him so many years ago. I could also see Deb taking on Harry Morgan's (James Remar) role as Dexter's ghostly conscience if they really wanted to shoe-horn her character in. Toss in another serial killer that father and son have to deal with, and you've got your show.