‘Dexter’ Star Michael C. Hall Reveals What Made Him Agree to Revival

When 'Dexter' ended, the first thought many viewers had was if there would ever be a reboot or revival. It turns out there were conversations about it as early as the mid-2010s, but it took years to get Michael C. Hall to agree to it.

by Chelsea Stewart

Published on October 24, 2021

2 min read

The end of ‘Dexter’ left the door open for Showtime to bring him back

By the end of the show, Dexter was planning to move to Argentina with his son Harrison and girlfriend Hannah McKay. But he wound up sending them off without him after the death of his sister, Debra Morgan. He then drove out to sea during a hurricane in what appeared to be a suicide attempt. But really he was faking his death. In the final scene of Dexter, it’s revealed that he fled to Oregon and became a lumberjack.

The series finale of Dexter was widely panned by both fans and critics. Many argued the events felt out of character for Dexter and failed to live up to everything that had happened up to that point. But the bright spot was that it left the door open to bring back the show — which is now happening. The revival, Dexter: New Blood, will find Dexter still in hiding, using the name Jim Lindsay. He’s no longer killing, but we know he will eventually.

Hall on returning to ‘Dexter’

Even though it’s just happening, Hall told Hey U Guys that he’d “always” had thoughts about a possible return of Dexter.

“It was always on my mind as a possibility, independent of people’s dissatisfaction with the ending and independent my own dissatisfaction, because the character was still alive and the series ended in a way that was very inclusive,” he shared. “… It was this thing that came up in different forms and ideas. It just never felt right and worth doing.”

“I think what changed and led us to actually moving forward with a revisitation of the character and his new world was that a lot of time had passed,” Hall explained. “And that sort of provided storytelling opportunities, primarily having to do with the fact that Harrison was a full-fledged, young — maybe not quite man, but he’s getting pretty close — and what that would be like if the two crossed paths again.”

Somehow, Harrison will track Dexter down to his home in Iron Lake, New York. The trailer for the revival offers a glimpse of their reunion, which has been described by actor Jack Alcott (Harrison Morgan) as “heartbreaking.”