Dexter is coming back for a 10-episode revival -- and showrunners promise that they will correct certain mistakes in the series finale. Dexter came to an end in 2012 after a fast-paced eight-season run. The show focused on the titular character of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a vigilante serial killer working within the Miami Metro Police Department.
While Dexter quickly solidified itself as a beloved, high-stakes drama, the finale proved extraordinarily controversial. Dexter's sister, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), suffers a stroke and is declared braindead. Dexter arrives in Deb's hospital room, takes her off life support, and drops her body into the ocean in the middle of a hurricane. After that, Dexter fakes his death and abandons his son to become a lumberjack in Oregon. The Dexter finale was met with dismay, to put things lightly, and fans were furious that Dexter's season-long character arc had ended in such a manner.
Dexter showrunner Clyde Phillips stopped by the TV's Top 5 podcast to reveal plans for the upcoming 10-episode revival. Phillips states that this revival isn't intended to act as season 9; instead, it will allow showrunners "to write a second finale." While Phillips says this is a chance to correct some aspects of Dexter's final episode, showrunners don't plan on retconning the original season 8 finale. You can check out Phillips' full quote on the Dexter finale and revival below:
“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.”
Although the Dexter finale disappointed many fans, some cast members have continued to defend how the serial killer drama ended. For instance, Yvonne Strahovski, who played Dexter's girlfriend Hannah, acknowledged that she saw both sides of the story. At the same time, she understood why fans were frustrated; she also emphasized that the finale put Dexter in a prison of his own, which was somewhat fitting. Regardless, though, the Dexter finale has continued to be negatively remembered by fans, which is why this limited revival will be such a breath of fresh air.
For a while, showrunners felt a fitting way to end the show would be to kill Dexter. However, Showtime was adamantly against this, which is likely why the series ended the way it did. Though, the bottom line is that Dexter came to an underwhelming end that seemed to throw all character pragmatism out the window. That being said, many fans hope that the revival will show the more logical side of Dexter that viewers know and love -- and that these episodes won't end up with a repeat of the lumberjack debacle.
Source: TV's Top 5 podcast