Michael C. Hall revives the killer of serial killers in Dexter: Resurrection
The saga of forensic analyst/killer of killers Dexter Morgan came to a fatal conclusion in the 2021 revival Dexter: New Blood, closing the book on the acclaimed series that originally ran from 2006 until 2013.
Or so we thought. Having faked his own death at the end of the original Dexter, and then seemingly buying the farm at the end of New Blood, it turns out that the titular antihero (Michael C. Hall) wasn’t quite as dead as viewers assumed. When he took a bullet intended for his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), Dex narrowly survived, and his saga continues in Dexter: Resurrection.
“We thought it would be the end, but he’s a remarkably resilient guy, so the possibility was always — at least for me — percolating,” Hall told Vanity Fair of bringing Dexter back from the dead.
In this latest iteration, Dexter makes his way to New York City in search of Harrison. However, his former colleague Angel Batista (David Zayas) has received a tip that Dexter is still alive, and may be responsible for the Bay Harbour Butcher murders in Miami all those years earlier. Angel, who is now captain of homicide with the Miami Metro Police, heads to the Big Apple in order to bring him to justice.
“The integrity and heart in Batista has just gotten stronger, and life experience along with new revelations have made him that much more focused on the task at hand,” said Zayas. “It felt amazing to go back to this character after so many years — especially with all the new information that he’s learned. We have the best crew working on this show and working with everyone again reminded me why this show is so special,” says Zayas.
As loyal viewers will recall, Angel has long suspected the truth about Dexter, so will he finally confront what he might have missed in this revival? “I feel there is no other option but to confront the absolute truth of what he has missed after so many years,” explains Zayas. “How he manifests that information is part of the exciting season that the viewers will share with Batista.”
Also returning is Dex’s late father, Harry Morgan (once again played by James Remar), who taught him to channel his “dark passenger” to vigilante justice, harnessing his compulsion to kill by murdering only those who truly have it coming. As he did previously, Harry continues to serve as Dex’s Jiminy Cricket, offering advice and counsel from the great beyond.
Angel isn’t the only one who seeking out Dexter in NYC. Eccentric billionaire Leon Prater (Game of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage) has taken a macabre interest in serial killers, and has his head of security, Charley (Uma Thurman), extend an invitation to Dexter to visit his manor.
When he arrives, Dex realizes he’s not the only killer on Prater’s list, with a literal murderers row assembled for a grim salon: Lowell (How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris), Gareth (David Dastmalchian, Oppenheimer), Al (Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family) and Mia (Krysten Ritter, Orphan Black: Echoes) have assembled at the manor, all seemingly unrepentant serial murderers living far enough below the radar to be there to meet the fabled killer of killers.
Also back from the dead in guest roles, reviving characters from the original series, are John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. the Trinity Killer; Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado, the assistant district attorney with a dark secret; and Erik King as Det. James Doakes, long thought to be the Bay Harbour Butcher.
For Hall, the opportunity to slip back into his most iconic role was impossible to resist. “It’s a special thing to be onto something that continues to give you something back,” he says. “Ultimately, any misgivings were overwhelmed by relishing the idea of him rising from his self-imposed ashes.”
As for whether Resurrection will be a limited single season, Hall says he’s open to the possibility of something longer term. “The thinking is not to come back for a sort of self-contained one-off again, but leave it open to further exploration,” Hall added. “The intention, and hope, is that the story will continue beyond this.”
Dexter: Resurrection, streaming on Friday, July 18 on Paramount+