Note: This story contains spoilers from “Dexter: Resurrection”
Michael C. Hall has been gracing our screens for nearly 20 years — and he’s about to be back at it again as the titular serial killer in “Dexter: Resurrection.”
The Paramount+ with Showtime continuation follows the events of 2021’s “Dexter: New Blood,” which itself built upon the original series that ran for eight seasons from 2006 to 2013 on Showtime (and that’s not to mention this past season’s “Dexter: Original Sin” prequel on Paramount+.) So what is it exactly about Dexter Morgan that won’t let him die in the eyes of fans?
“People really enjoy watching Dexter get into impossible binds and find his way out of them. I think it’s been proven that what they don’t like is when, in one way or another, he’s punished. I think he has a resiliency that people enjoy and they like to see him bounce back,” Hall told TheWrap ahead of Friday’s premiere. “When the powers that be surveyed potential audience members about what they thought about the notion of Dexter returning, it was actually revealed that people largely found it more plausible that he didn’t die than that he did. So yeah, there’s just something about him that people have an appetite to see him live another day.”
“I’m as surprised as anyone that I’m talking to you about it this much time after having shot the pilot episode. Different people like it for different reasons, but there’s the obvious appeal of watching him get the bad guys. I think there’s something about the character’s combination of capability and limitation that people find endearing and I think they like watching him get out of hot water,” he continued. “And there’s something about the way the story is constructed with the voiceover element that I think gives audiences a sense of intimacy with the character that none of the other characters who populate the world enjoy. I think that’s a big part of the appeal as well.”
Hall even admitted, “Sometimes I feel uniquely unqualified to answer the question of Dexter’s appeal, because I lived inside it. But I’m thankful for it.”
“Resurrection” will also see the return of David Zayas as Det. Angel Batista, Jack Alcott as Harrison Morgan and James Remar as Harry Morgan, with Dexter heading to New York after being left for dead in Iron Lake.
“He’s definitely alive, he’s not a ghost. Dexter’s on his way out of Iron Lake and into New York City. Beyond that, I was compelled by the idea that the bullet didn’t kill him, that Dexter would maybe with this second chance at life have an experience that allowed him to put his past down and put whatever has been burdening him for so many years in the past,” Hall explained. “Maybe he’s able to reclaim his identity, literally and figuratively, in way that he hasn’t quite been able to do since he was bested by Trinity; ever since collateral damage started to accumulate in his life. That was part of what initially compelled me at the notion.”
“New York is this huge, sprawling metropolis, teaming with people and teaming with storytelling possibility, as far as Dexter’s world goes. It’s a place where a character like Peter Dinklage’s Leon Prater could conceivably exist and be up to what he appears to be up to. You couldn’t get away with that everywhere,” he added. “I was just really gratified that we’re able to attract people of their caliber to join us. I mean, Peter, Uma Thurman, Eric Stonestreet, David Dastmalchian, Krysten Ritter, Neil Patrick Harris … I mean, it was amazing that all these people showed up for the ride.”
And with 19 years’ worth of former co-stars to pull from, you never know who might pop back up on screen.
“When it comes to ‘Dexter’ and its possibilities, there are definitely some characters who were dead already — namely, James Remar who’s back as Harry and appearing to his son again. John Lithgow and Jimmy Smits and others make appearances early on, too. I think the show has revealed that even if a character is no longer alive, they can still appear in Dexter’s interior landscape.”
“Dexter: Resurrection” premieres its first two episodes on July 11, followed by a new episode every Friday on Paramount+ with Showtime.
