Dexter's return will be a 'second finale' for the series
The original series finished in 2013
At its best, Dexter was one of the sharpest shows on TV – a barbed, subversive serial-killer drama that dared audiences to side with Michael C. Hall's mass-murderer, albeit one with a stringent moral code, taking down the baddies who avoided legal justice.
That freshness made it all the more disappointing, then, when the final seasons went completely off the boil – culminating in a finale that often ranks in lists of the worst (or, most disappointing) endings of all time.
All of which made the recent news that Dexter is returning for a one-off revival series on Showtime both surprising and rather exciting – a chance to maybe alter the show’s lasting legacy.
And that’s partly how showrunner Clyde Phillips sees it. Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast, the series boss (who left the original run after the much-celebrated season four), opened up about what exactly the new season will be – and posited it as a ‘second finale’ for Dexter.
"We want this to not be Dexter season nine," he said, adding that the new season will pick up several years after the original ending. "10 years, or however many years, have passed by the time this will air, and the show will reflect that time passage. In 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 for our show, and Showtime was very gracious about that."
By the sounds of it, the new season won’t walk back the events of the season eight finale – but it should continue them to a more satisfying place.
"I believe that (Michael C Hall) was not completely satisfied with it, and this is an opportunity to make that right, but that’s not why we’re doing it," Clyde said. "We’re doing this because there is such a hunger for Dexter out there... We’re 10 years later. We’re not undoing anything. We’re not doing movie-magic. We’re not going to betray the audience and say, ‘Oop, that was all a dream.’ What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years."
It’s early days on the revival season yet, but current plans have it down for an autumn 2021 release. Here’s hoping Dexter manages to retrain as something other than a lumberjack within that time.
Now take a look at TV shows we wish would make a comeback:
Footballers' Wives
Broadcasting between 2002-2006, Footballers' Wives followed fictional Premier League football club Earls Park, as well as all of the drama from both the players and their fiery wives!
Bad Girls
Set inside a fictional women's prison, Bad Girls aired on ITV between 1996-2006 and featured some very famous faces, including Claire King and Debra Stephenson.
The Bill
First broadcast in 1983, police drama The Bill certainly proved popular, airing until 2010. The show focused on the lives and work of police officers and starred well-known actors such as Trudie Goodwin, Graham Cole and Mark Wingett.
Outnumbered
Although all of the kids from BBC sitcom Outnumbered are now grown up (Tyger Drew-Honey is now 26), we'd love to see a remake of the hilarious programme, which followed the lives of a mother and father who were outnumbered by their three children.
Of course, the mum and dad are now officially a couple in real life!
Don't Try This At Home
Who remembers sitting down in front of the TV on a Saturday night, watching on as Davina McCall helped members of the public take on tough and fearful challenges?
This needs to come back!
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
She was confident, funny, magical AND she had a talking cat. Sabrina made us all want to be a witch!
The show was also rebooted between 2018 and 2020 as a Netflix series called Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Ugly Betty
Believe it or not, it's been a massive 16 years since Ugly Betty last aired on our screens! The show, which featured actress America Ferrera, followed a character called Betty Suarez, who despite her lack of 'style', landed a job at a very prestigious fashion magazine.
Where The Heart Is
The British drama, which was filmed in the Yorkshire town of Skelthwaite, proved very popular with viewers between 1997-2006, showcasing the lives of a group of district nurses and their families.
It's a Knockout
It was stupid, it was crazy, but it was certainly fun! It's a Knockout started way back in 1966, but the show made a number of returns on BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5!
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
We'd love to see Will Smith get back into his character alongside Carlton Banks, however we got the next best thing earlier this year, with the Fresh Prince reboot called Bel Air, which was released earlier this year where Jabari Banks played Will Smith.
Stars In Their Eyes
A true classic! Stars In Their Eyes, originally hosted by Leslie Crowther, first aired in 1990 with Matthew Kelly taking over in 1993. The show did make a return with Harry Hill in 2015, but it didn't quite take off!
The Queen's Nose
Who would have thought that rubbing a 50p coin would be so interesting? We used to love watching the adventures of Harmony as she used up her magic wishes.
Gossip Girl
Although the show was given a reboot in 2021 with a brand new cast, it didn't live up to expectations of the original series, which aired between 2007-2012.
Fun House
We used to love watching two schools battle each other in three rounds of madness. Bring back the gunge and Pat Sharp's crazy hairstyles!
Grange Hill
Despite being at school all day, we loved to come home and watch other people be at school. Strange. But gripping story lines and relatable characters had us glued to our screens.
London's Burning
Airing between 1988 and 2002, London's Burning documented the lives of a fictional London Fire Brigade Blue Watch at the fictional Blackwall fire station.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory was on TV from 2007 until 2019. The show centred around two physicists who shared an apartment, Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, and their friendship with Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, who lived opposite.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones lasted for eight seasons between 2011 – 2019. The show starred Sean Bean as Eddard 'Ned' Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.
House of Dragons is the new prequel but we really wish we'd have gotten more (or another ending) to the original Game of Thrones TV show. Who knows, maybe when the last book is out they might make some more episodes…
Those were the days!