Dexter is returning to Showtime with a revival that is bringing back Michael C. Hall to reprise his iconic character after the eighth and final season came to a divisive end back in 2013. The death of Jennifer Carpenter's Deb in the series finale seemingly meant that she was one of the original series stars who wouldn't be able to return for the revival, but all bets were off with the news that John Lithgow would be reprising his character despite The Trinity Killer's death. Now, Carpenter is reportedly returning for more Dexter as well.
Jennifer Carpenter is reportedly returning for the upcoming Dexter revival on Showtime, according to THR, but no details are currently available about the how and why of Deb reappearing. Deb was quite definitively dead when she was written out in the series finale, so it's probably safe to say that Dexter isn't resurrecting Dexter's sister for the revival. The odds seem pretty good that Deb will appear via a dream sequence, hallucination, figment of Dexter's mind, or flashback.
Interestingly, John Lithgow recently previewed how he's returning as The Trinity Killer, telling Deadline that he was only called to set for "one afternoon," and the show will boast "a whole new cast of characters." If Jennifer Carpenter's return is happening in a similar way, as another actor playing a character who has been killed off, then fans may not want to get their hopes up for too much of Deb.
Then again, The Trinity Killer was only a key character in Season 4 of Dexter, whereas Deb was a main player from beginning to end. It would certainly make sense if the revival needed more of Deb, no matter how she was incorporated into the action.
At the time of writing, Jennifer Carpenter has not commented on reports that she'll appear in the Dexter revival on social media, although she has kept up with posting Dexter promos on social media as they've released in recent months. Plus, she posted a photo wearing some stripes that started fan speculation that she could be reprising her role back in March on Instagram. Take a look:
The ten-episode revival will pick up on Dexter ten years after he went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, and he's going to be living in Upstate New York under an assumed name, so the new episodes aren't going to revisit Dexter in his lumberjack lifestyle revealed (to fans' disappointment) in the series finale.
An official premiere date for the Dexter revival hasn't been announced just yet, but the new episodes are expected to begin releasing in the fall. In the meantime, you can always revisit the first eight seasons of the series streaming on Amazon. For some fresher viewing options during the wait for more Dexter, our 2021 summer TV premiere schedule can help you out.
