Dexter captured viewers when it premiered in 2006. The dark drama adapted Jeff Lindsay’s first novel in the series of the same name and set up a world with Michael C. Hall’s titular serial killer at the center of the story. Dexter aired for eight seasons, taking its final bow in 2013. Not quite final though. Showtime announced in 2020 that it was bringing back the show as a 10-episode limited series, Dexter: New Blood. We learned in July that Jennifer Carpenter would reprise her role as Debra Morgan—even though she died in the finale.
As part of Showtime’s presentation on Thursday at the Television Critics Association fall tour, Carpenter revealed how Deb returns. Deadline shares that Deb takes on the role of Dexter’s Dark Passenger. That’s kind of like his inner voice but more sinister. Dexter often referenced his Dark Passenger in the series, using the phrase to name his need to kill. In the original series, Dexter’s dead father Harry served in this role.
Showtime
Carpenter said at the TCA presentation, “I love the concept of the Dark Passenger and being invited into Dexter’s psyche. I feel like sometimes the Dark Passenger and the passenger is almost directly behind the wheel and it was an opportunity not to be an angel or devil on his shoulder, but to jerk the wheel to the left or right against his will. And to manipulate him, to navigate him, to abuse him, to save him.”
Hall noted that having Deb’s voice as the Dark Passenger “represents just how far he’s come or how far he’s fallen.” In New Blood, Dexter’s made his home in a small town and is trying to live a “normal” life with his son Harrison.
Dexter: New Blood debuts on Showtime on November 7, 2021.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.