Making a change … ish. Clyde Philipps, the showrunner of Dexter‘s first four seasons, is returning for the revival of the Showtime hit and is ready to make things right after the original series finale disappointed fans.
“We basically do get to start from scratch. We want this not to be Dexter season 9. I mean, 10 years have passed — or however many years have passed by the time this will air — and the show will reflect that time passage,” Phillips said on the “TV’s Top 5” podcast on Friday, October 16. “As for the ending of the show, this will have no resemblance to how the original finale was, and it’s a great opportunity to write a second finale for our show.”
The drama, which aired from 2006 to 2013, starred Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a man who helped Miami police solve murders by day and murdered criminals by night.
Hall, 49, is set to return for the revival despite the negative reviews of the 2013 end.
“Michael was certainly aware that the ending wasn’t well-received — and I believe that he was not completely satisfied with it. This is an opportunity to make [the ending] right, but that’s not why we’re doing it,” the writer said. “We’re doing this because there is such a hunger for Dexter out there.”
Another big question that fans have is about Hall’s longtime costar, Jennifer Carpenter, who portrayed his sister, Debra Morgan. Deb was killed in the original finale, but that relationship was such a big part of the show. So, could they bring her back?
“We’re not undoing anything. We’re not doing movie magic. We’re not going to betray the audience and say, ‘Whoops, that was all a dream’ or whatever it is. What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years. This is now, however many years later. We’re not undoing anything.”
So, Deb is still dead. However, that doesn’t mean Carpenter, 40 — or some of the other stars whose characters were killed off — couldn’t return as ghosts or in memories.
“There is some flexibility to do some movie magic. That’s all I can say about that,” Phillips said, being careful not to reveal any spoilers. As for whether Carpenter specifically would return, he teased, “My answer to that is I can’t answer that.”
The Limitless alum, for her part, reacted to the news of the revival series via Instagram, reposting a fan’s tattoos of Deb and Dexter Morgan. “I hope you saved a lil’ room for one more round,” the actress captioned the still.
The revival of Dexter is set to begin production soon and will be released in fall 2021.
