Rumors began to circulate this weekend that Showtime was interested in bringing back its biggest series to date, Dexter, which ran for four seasons and limped for another four before being put out of its misery with a series finale that holds the record for highest rated episode for the network. (Side note: The show began faltering creatively in the fifth season after its head writer, Melissa Rosenberg, left. Rosenberg is now the showrunner for Jessica Jones). The rumors picked up enough steam over a slow-news weekend, in fact, that it began trending on Facebook, and countless fans of the series began getting their hopes up for a return (while critics of the last four seasons began bemoaning talks of a reboot).
Is there any truth to the rumors that Showtime plans to bring back Dexter?
Yes and no.
Yes, there was talk of resurrecting Dexter as soon as the series ended (in fact, some suggested that the ending was designed to allow the character to return). In the two years since the series concluded, Showtime has continued to make the occasional overture, always adding the caveat that they wouldn’t do it unless Michael C. Hall agreed to return. Michael C. Hall, however, has not intimated that he’s ready to return to the role, and Showtime has not engaged in any serious discussions to bring the show back (at least not publicly).
In other words, no. Showtime has no immediate plans to bring back Dexter. However, reboots are a popular trend right now, Showtime has never had a series more successful than Dexter, and Michael C. Hall hasn’t done a lot of film or television work since the series ended (he has worked on Broadway), so bringing it back someday is absolutely not out of the question. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising.
So, where did this Thanksgiving weekend rumor come from, anyway? It came from the website The Inquisitr, which provided no new information on a potential Dexter return. Rather, the site collected a few quotes over the last two years from various people associated with the series who have suggested that they wouldn’t rule out a reboot and coupled it with a Dexter Returns! headline. On a slow weekend, that’s all it takes for a story to go viral.
On the other hand, the interest created by the post could inspire Showtime to take another look at the reboot. After all, The X-Files reboot was spawned by a Nerdist episode with Gillian Anderson.
In the meantime, with or without a reboot, we’ll always have the the Harrison GIF, which remains the worst scene in prestige television history.
