'Dexter: Resurrection' return was medically possible after TV death: 'Prove me wrong'
The world’s most beloved serial killer, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), is alive and risen on Showtime's “Dexter: Resurrection” (first two episodes on Paramount+ Premium on July 11), providing further Hollywood proof of Sean Connery’s famed declaration about retiring and returning as James Bond.
Never say never, again.
Because Dexter was most definitely dead three years ago in the “Dexter: New Blood" finale. In January 2022, executive producer Clyde Phillips even put the nail in the coffin by telling Paste BN three simple words: “Dexter is dead."
"Yes, I remember that conversation specifically. I got killed on Reddit for saying those words," Phillips says. But Dexter's shotgun death took a turn for the better with renewed interest in reviving the antihero behind Showtime's record-breaking franchise, and Hall was game to play the role that made the "Six Feet Under" actor a household name. "Michael came to me and said, 'Can you unkill me?'"
But just how real is the rebirth of the onetime Miami Metro Police blood-spatter analyst who moonlit as a vigilante serial killer for eight "Dexter" seasons from 2006-13? As "Resurrection" rises, we break down Dexter's death, new life, and the malevolent forces that seek to kill him all over again.
Dexter's 'New Blood' death in the snow helped his rebirth
To recap the "New Blood" finale crime scene: Dexter takes a close-range rifle shot to the chest from his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott). As he lies in the blood-stained snow in upstate New York, scenes of his troubled life pass before his closed eyes.
"We thought that was it," Hall says. "But Dexter's inherent resilience and that cold forest floor had other plans. We understood it was an unlikely possibility, but very much a possibility, that someone could survive something like that."
Phillips stresses that the cold weather loomed large with the medical experts on the payroll. "If Dexter had been shot in Miami, he'd still be dead. But he was shot in zero-degree weather, which slowed his heart and blood pumping," says Phillips, who dares: "Prove me wrong and we'll have no show."
Paste BN asked unaffiliated medical experts to assess the "New Blood" shooting. The verdict left the possibility of survival. "More than half of all patients with a single gunshot wound to the heart who are quickly brought to the hospital survive," forensic pathologist Michael Baden, host of HBO's "Autopsy," emailed after reviewing the TV evidence.
"The bullet would need to miraculously miss his heart and great vessels (in the left chest), and only hit his left lung, then exit out his back," wrote Judy Melinek, the bestselling author, forensic pathologist and ballistics expert. "In the cold and falling on snow, (Dexter) became hypothermic, slowing down the metabolic processes and preventing brain injury caused by lack of oxygen from blood loss."
Dexter was rushed to the hospital in 'Original Sin'
"Dexter: Original Sin," the prequel series narrated by Hall, began laying the groundwork for the original Dexter's rebirth. The December 2024 "Original Sin" premiere showed the adult serial killer being rushed to an upstate medical clinic in a police SUV – no time for an ambulance.
In "Resurrection," Dexter's post-coma recovery is painstakingly slow. The vigilante killer meets ghosts of his past during the slow rehab – like Arthur Mitchell, aka the "Trinity Killer" (John Lithgow), Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) and his deceased father, Harry Morgan (James Remar). In New York City, Dexter is so weak that he keels over while giving chase on a subway platform.
"We wanted to honor what happened, that it wasn't just a dream," Hall says. "He suffered a potentially fatal wound. We show him compromised."
'Resurrection' enemies include Uma Thurman, Neil Patrick Harris
He'll need his strength in New York as he follows his fleeing son to make amends and give protection. Harrison, who is unaware of his dad's recovery, has demonstrated the family's dark proclivity for killing evildoers. There's plenty of action and danger in the Big Apple "that only that city can provide," Hall says.
Dexter unknowingly steps into a Gotham-like serial-killer universe led by twisted billionaire venture capitalist Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage) and his chief of security, Charley (Uma Thurman).
The duo oversees a serial killer all-star cabal with tabloid names including the "The Tattoo Collector" (Neil Patrick Harris), the hair-obsessed "Rapunzel" ("Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet), "Lady Vengeance" ("Jessica Jones" star Krysten Ritter) and "The Gemini Killer." (David Dastmalchian, fittingly a veteran of "The Suicide Squad.")
"In Episode 4, when these characters are introduced, it feels like Dexter has been transported to some villainous superhero universe," says Hall. "It's really wild."
While he starts physically weakened, Dexter has purged the profound serial killer guilt he dealt with in "New Blood." Getting shot by your son will do that to you.
"His past does not burden him in the same way," Hall says. "In having a second chance at life, he's getting in touch with who he really is."
That promises a future filled with faceoffs and some gleeful killings of new foes. "One of these characters will end up being what we call 'The Big Baddie,' and they will be taken care of this season," Phillips says. The rest will wait their turn for a lethal confrontation, which could take "however many years we're going to be on. And really, that's up to Michael."
Hall won't say how long that is. But he's loving Dexter's "new lease on life," adding that the 10-episode season ends with "multiple doors kicked wide open."
"There's a lot of fertile ground to cover," Hall says. "And I've learned a lesson. Never says 'never' when it comes to Dexter Morgan."
How to watch 'Dexter: Resurrection'
"Dexter: Resurrection" streams its first two episodes on Paramount+ Premium (formerly Paramount+ with SHOWTIME) on July 11, followed by weekly Friday episodes. The first two episodes air on July 13 on Paramount+ with Showtime (8 ET/PT).