Where vigilante serial killing and vampire slaying unite, a fan theory suggests that Showtime’s Dexter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are set in the same universe. Dexter, which ran from 2006 to 2013, followed Dexter Morgan, a Miami blood-spatter analyst who moonlights as a serial killer, following a strict code of only murdering killers who evade justice. The 1997-2003 Buffy the Vampire Slayer series documented teenager Buffy Summers, the latest chosen one in a long line destined to be vampire slayers, battling the forces of darkness to save the world.

After nearly a decade being off the air following its hated series finale, Dexter is finally coming back with a season 9 reboot, titled Dexter: New Blood. Another beloved horror drama, Buffy has also been rumored since 2018 to be getting a revival, though no official production has been announced. Since the two series follow a similar underlying plot of the protagonist having to hide their vigilante lives from family and friends, Dexter and Buffy being in the same universe would be interesting for upcoming adaptations to further explore.

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While the shows weren't on the same network, Dexter and Buffy have long been rumored to take place in the same fictional universe. Dexter never featured supernatural forces aside from Dexter Morgan’s own blood-obsessed internal dark passenger, so it’s hard to believe they could exist together. Dexter also took place in sunny Miami, Florida while Buffy is primarily located in fictional Sunnydale, California, so the two shows never would have had a chance to overlap. The connecting piece between the shows that places them in the same universe is fictional fast-food restaurant Doublemeat Palace, which both shows reference.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy working at Doublemeat Palace in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy takes a job at the fast-food restaurant Doublemeat Palace, which soon turns sinister when she (incorrectly) suspects the chain’s secret ingredient is human meat. Dexter’s season 1 episode “Truth be Told” then makes a passing reference to Doublemeat Palace when Angel’s wife is disgusted at him eating two Doublemeat burgers. The restaurant connection between Dexter and Buffy is similar to what links many of the films in Quentin Tarantino’s shared movie universe; the fictional Big Kahuna Burger or Red Apple Cigarettes. Doublemeat Palace doesn’t exist in the real world, so such a specific restaurant chain being referenced by both shows is no accident.

Dexter’s inclusion of Doublemeat Palace four years after Buffy’s episode is likely down to both outings being written by Drew Z. Greenberg, who frequently worked on both series. Greenberg was a writer and story editor for Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s last two seasons as well as a producer and occasional writer on Dexter season 1, with the Doublemeant burger reference combining his two most successful horror shows into the same universe.

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