Dexter Revival Ordered at Showtime; Michael C. Hall Returning for 10-Episode Limited Series
Dexter Morgan’s second act as a lumberjack is coming to an end: Showtime has ordered a 10-episode Dexter revival, with Michael C. Hall on board to reprise his role as the killer vigilante.
Original EP Clyde Phillips will be back as showrunner of the quasi-ninth season, which is set to begin production this winter ahead of a Fall 2021 launch.
“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 Showtime president Gary Levine 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!”
Dexter made its Showtime debut in Fall 2006 and ran for eight successful (if polarizing) seasons. In the much-maligned series finale — which aired on Sept. 22, 2013 — Dexter faked his death and assumed a new identity as a lumberjack. (TVLine readers gave the episode an average “D” grade.)
“I thought it was narratively satisfying — but it was not so savoury,” Hall previously conceded of the swan song, adding, “I think the show had lost a certain amount of torque. Just inherently because of how long we’d done it, because of the storytelling capital we’d spent, because our writers may have been gassed… Maybe some people wanted a more satisfying… ending for him, either a happy ending or a more definitive sense of closure.”
Showtime has for years been kicking around the idea of resurrecting Dexter. In 2014, then-president David Nevins confirmed that “ongoing conversations” were taking place to revive the franchise, but maintained any new series “would have to involve Michael… If we were to do it, I’d only do it with Michael.”
I am really not sure what to think of this. I guess it really was only a matter of when and not if this would happen.
I don’t know how possible this is considering he and his sister died in the final episode. Would be nice to see his son.
he didnt die…. the final scene shows him living a different life in a lumberyard in Alaska (or a similar place)
He didn’t die. He became a lumberjack at the end.
He did not die. Deb died, but he became a logger.
Dexter survived the hurricane. The last scene he was in the Pacific NW. Debra could be brought back as a ghost/conscience like his father.
Well that’s very cool & totally unexpected news!
I wish they say the last season was bad dream and Deb will be back
The finale was by far the worst thing I’ve ever seen so it certainly cannot be worse. I’ll admit that I am very curious about how this turns out.
“Fakes his death to become a lumberjack” was so bad it’s become a meme. Like not quite on the level of Jumping the Shark, but getting there. I can’t believe anyone was able to convince anyone else there’s any life left in this property after the way it ended (and the last few seasons before that), to be honest.
The ending was totally fine, you people are all just so used to crazy endings where everything comes together or gets solved or the main characters get married or everyone finally blows up and it all comes to a head that you can’t take it.
Killing him off would’ve been cliche and boring and assumed, him getting a happy ending as suggested in this article would’ve been absurd and fake since he doesn’t have feelings, what ended up happening is what really would’ve happened if he’d lived through what he did and if they didn’t want to do the realistic ending of just sending him to jail. He didn’t fake his death because he wanted to be a lumberjack, this isn’t what he wants to do – it’s survival aka the entire premise of the show after S1 or so.
Serial killers basically always get caught in the modern age, he already basically had been and he’d ruined everyone’s lives in the meantime, just like serial killers do. There’s only one option for that character aside from die or be arrested forever, go on the run or into hiding.
The show had already established he’s an extremely smart/resourceful and unfeeling killer who would do anything to avoid being stuck in a cell forever. Where he ended up totally makes sense. Is “lumberjack”(as all you drones have to put it to validate your lame memes) an uncommon, supposedly funny sounding job? Of course, that’s the point.
It’s extremely out of the way, away from questions and well funded police forces, a perfect job to mix in with other people running away from something who won’t look twice at an antisocial person.
I worked on extremely out of the way oil fields in ND/ALASKA and half the workers or more were either there because literally nobody else would hire them, had warrants out, were avoiding kids/families, or were just total psychopaths. It is the perfect ending for realism outside of him just getting caught and going to jail or committing suicide. I’d love for any of you to name a better ending that involves him living and not going to jail. Him not being arrested for the length of the show was already unrealistic enough. The true ending for a killer like that in this age is jail, or suicide because jail is coming.
And lastly, something being turned into a meme is as meaningless an identifier of quality as it gets. Most people are dumb and therefore anything can be turned into a joke for them. Memes are for kids and old Facebook-type people and obnoxious people, aka the last people I want reviewing a show I like.
Dude, the “lumberjack” part might have been the Last Straw for long time fans, but it Would Not have happened if season 8 wasnt Abysmal as a Whole. It was just Sooo lacking in Everything that was so great about the show in its hey day, like the attention to detail which was the reason this series didnt have too much plot holes, at least not until it started to go downhill.
I mean, Im one of the few people who Actually enjoyed season 5, and that was trashed severely Right until s06 reached its mid-point, but personally I could have walked away from the show If it got cancelled right at the end of s05, where as the Entire season 8 was sloppy, boring, felt like something as cheesy as Texas Ranger, and the ending was just the cherry on the turd-cake-top. The thing is, I dont think its because of the premise of the season – I was Really excited when the first couple of eps came out, but it went south Soo quick that when ep 5 ended, I actually wanted to stop, because that could have been a nice Hollywood type cheeseball of an ending, but at least it would have been over and in Not as disappointing a way as the real finale. The intentions might have been good, but the execution was mediocre, at best.
Def never saw this coming!!!! I’m excited tho!!!! We can get back to basics even if only for a short period of time
Me: I don’t really like James Remar anymore.
You: Dexter is coming back.
Me: Is Black Lightning going to let Jamie off for a few episodes? Plz? 😂
Yahoo, great news. Dexter my hero.
Great news. Maybe this time they will straighten out the worse than stellar ending from the original run.
I can only hope (and pray) it gets a proper ending now!
FAB! Wish it were sooner. Hope I live long enough. Love Dex and all his “friends” and “family”. I wish they could bring back that lady (Lila) he met at the NA meeting (Jaime Murray). She was his perfect opponent.
I hope it opens with him the shower and it’s revealed that the last season was dream
Absolutely! I really thought the ending was really unreal.
i am thinking more like Deb was actually in a coma so the last scenes that we saw were part of that.
He went to Argentina without knowing what happened since she asked him to go to his new life.
So the new season will be Deb waking up from a coma, Quinn turning into this dark persona because he is the only one who didn’t move on, Batista as Captain, Masuka coming back to work, and so on.
It’s just an idea lol
He dumped Deb’s body in the ocean, remember? So that scenario wouldnt work.
You couldn’t easily explain it as the way that Deb sees herself maybe deep down she keeps blaming for things of the past.
So in her mind that what’s she deserves and that’s how she pictures her dead, having karma for her mistakes, and his brother ending her suffering
That would be nice to see deb back
Hoping that Ghost Deb appears as a main character. The show wouldn’t be the same without her.
Also as a fan of Yvonne Strahovski, I’m hoping she’s not in this, unless the writing for her character has improved. The character had so much potential, but too much of her role was just “bland love interest” (especially season 8) Handmaid’s Tale has proven she can play a complex villain brilliantly. . With the original show runner involved, perhaps Hannah won’t be in this.
ghost deb is a great idea.
Yvonne or a replacement actress has to be in it since she hasDexters son.
They could say that Hannah was arrested at some point over the last 8 years. They could definitely also recast.
Wow. Completely forgot she was in it.
.
I first remember her from 24. Shocked.
The ending was so terrible that the only thing that might get me to watch is if Yvonne was on as a regular. Let him go to Argentina, reunite, and restart his killing there. Otherwise I don’t think I’ll let them ruin things for me again.
Seriously? After one the most horrible series finale I’ve ever seen? And with Deb being dead I have little interest on this but a small part of me can’t help but be a little curious about the total trainwreck that this could be.
And to be fair Clyde Phillips wasn’t responsible for the later terrible seasons so it might not be completely bad.
The end of the finale was the appease the people who don’t even watch the show so almost none of us who loved the show from the beginning wanted it. Deb should have be allowed to be in a relationship as should Dexter. Nothing bad happening. Instead of was all haha no happy endings. I wish they’d ignore the end in this new limited series. In large part because I want Deb back.
SURPRISE MOTHERF@#$£R!
Best. Comment. Ever.
Unexpected but welcome news! Look forward to Michael C. Hall as Dexter again!
I hope against hope that Jennifer Carpenter, who played Dexter’s sister, will be a promininant part of the revival.
Are they friends after the divorce? It’s been a long time, they may not want to work together again.
They worked together for 2-3 seasons after their divorce. So, unless everything went to hell between them afterwards they are capable of working together.
I assumed they were under contract then because they didn’t plan to divorce.
.
Now it would be completely voluntary. We’ll see.
I vaguely recall that the divorce was amicable and mainly because she wanted kids and he had genetic cancer and didn’t want to pass it on.
given how it ended, i always thought the door was left open for something like this…still it is out of the blue…i truly truly hope they can get a redo on that ending…Dexter fell apart towards the end and really , in hindsight, should have stopped after season 4…The biggest complaint i always heard, and i agree, is how could the show have ended without him getting exposed in the end …everyone wanted that moment where he finally got caught …i kind of hope this reboot gives us that moment.
Super Excited Please Fix The Worst Ending Ever!
Great. Please do a final season of Prison Break next!
Fine with me. Gives them a chance to redeem themselves.
Will watch.
Agreed. Please let that ending have been a really bad dream and redo it better. Cause some of 7 and most/all of 8 soured me on the show.
If they do it right then I’m all for it!
They should only do this if these new 10 episodes are to take the place of the original final season as a “re-do”. That original final season was such garbage they should try again and give the fans the REAL final season we deserve.
Please bring back dexter ty jim
Good news!: https://tvline.com/2020/10/14/dexter-revival-showtime-season-9-michael-c-hall/
ha ha love ya Matt
Dexter was one of my favorites besides TWD. Cant wait!