Dexter season 9: How did the Jennifer Carpenter news come out?

Earlier this week, there was some really delightful news that came out about Dexter season 9 — Jennifer Carpenter is back! No doubt we’re thrilled about this; the actress was an essential part of the original show and even though (spoiler alert) the character of Deb is dead, the writers likely have a suitable way to bring her back. Personally, we think that they’ll have her return in spectral form, similar to what they did in the past with Dexter’s father Harry.

On some level we expected Carpenter’s return from the moment the revival was first announced — it’s hard to imagine Dexter without her, even if Deb’s no longer in the land of the living. What we’re a little surprised about is the news getting out, given that this is something that we easily could’ve imagined being kept a secret for a little while longer.

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It’s ironic in a way that the first mention of Jennifer’s return comes from another returning actor, someone whose involvement also could have been a secret: John Lithgow. In an interview with Deadline, here is what the man behind the Trinity Killer had to say about his own return:

“As all Dexter fans know, we saw the end of the Trinity Killer, so that by definition means it’s a flashback … It was just wonderful to rejoin that gang — including Michael [C. Hall] and Jennifer Carpenter and [showrunner] Clyde Phillips.”

So are Michael C. Hall, Jennifer, and John the only three returning major players from the original series? We have a hard time thinking that is the case, but it couldn’t be harder to get some other original cast members on board. A lot of characters were still alive at the end of season 8, and Dexter is now in upstate New York rather than Miami; on the surface, it’s hard to imagine them finding a way to seek him out.ow

What do you most want to see when it comes to Dexter season 9?

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