‘Dexter’ Star Michael C Hall on How the Dissatisfying Ending Created ‘Appetite’ for a Reboot

“Dexter” star Michael C. Hall admitted the polarizing finale of the show was crucial for the upcoming reboot as it made people wish for proper closure.

For eight seasons, Michael C. Hall portrayed Dexter in the eponymous show, a blood-spatter analyst during the day and an antihero-like serial killer during the night.

Unfortunately, most fans expected some closure in the series finale. Instead, they were left with more questions than answers: Spoiler alert for “Dexter” finale.

Season 8 ended with Dexter’s sister Debra, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter, euthanized by Dexter himself after being shot by a killer he was chasing.

Apart from that, he faked his own death after everyone discovered he was a killer. In the process, he abandoned his son and the sunny Miami to live undercover in Oregon.

Given all the hype the series had built up, several people felt frustrated by the finale as it became one of the most disappointing ones of the decade. Hall knows it firsthand, and he admitted it played a massive part in creating the reboot, “Dexter: New Blood.” Hall said:

“The show did not end in a way that was definitive for people and didn't give anyone closure. […] It left audiences… in a sense of suspended animation.”

He confessed that a significant amount of their motivation to work on a reboot was answering what happened to Dexter Morgan. He added that what was dissatisfying to the audience created an “appetite” they hope to satisfy.

Although Carpenter’s character was killed, she will return to the show.

“Dexter: New Blood” is expected to premiere on November 7, 2021. Instead of a ninth season, showrunner Clyde Phillips revealed it would be a new embodiment and imagining of the show.

The events will take place in Iron Lake, a fictitious town in New York. It will follow Dexter trying to prove to his son Harrison, who thought he was dead, that he is a good father.

Although Carpenter’s character was killed, she will return to the show. She pointed out she didn’t want to return to fix a “broken score” but to ask Debra if she wanted to watch Dexter “experience himself.”

Speaking of reboots, George Clooney recently admitted that an “ER” revival wouldn’t be the best thing to do as bringing back the energy obtained when the show initially aired would be challenging. Everything is possible in Hollywood, though.