Dexter Boss Promises to 'Make Things Right' in Revival
Paul Dailly
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News of Dexter's return has either been met with a happy dance or a big gulp.
The series, which aired for eight seasons from 2006-13 was a success for Showtime, but the final season, particularly the series finale, did not sit well with fans.
If you watch Dexter online, you know Michael C. Hall's serial-killing alter ego killed his sister, Deb, played by Jennifer Carpenter.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he then went to live out his days as a lumberjack.
It did not fit in with what came before, so many people have branded it the worst ending of any series.
At the time, it set records in the ratings for Showtime, so bringing it back at some point was a no-brainer.
Now, with the revival, it will pick up in real time, so many years after the controversial finale.
“We basically do get to start from scratch,” showrunner Clyde Phillips said in the latest episode of THR’s TV’s Top 5 podcast.
“We want this to not be Dexter Season 9,” he said.
“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,” Phillips said. “But that’s not why we’re doing it.”
If you thought the new series would undo some of those developments, we have some bad news.
“We’re not undoing anything,” Phillips added.
“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.”
Many TV shows that have returned have side-stepped specific events, but Dexter will not be one of those shows.
Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment for Showtime Networks, Inc., made the pickup official earlier this week.
"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 Levine.
“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!”
What are your thoughts on the return?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
