‘Dexter’ season 8: New production notes as filming nears

“Dexter” fans, it won’t be wrong. June 30 is less than five months away, and while that may seem like forever, the season 8 premiere is a heck of a lot sooner than what we are traditionally used to getting when it comes to the Showtime hit. So with that in mind, why not enjoy the premiere date for what it is at the moment? After all, the actors are already getting set to film scenes … which is something that we very much are not used to seeing in February.

With that in mind, let’s start off by saying what we know: filming is going to be going almost non-stop for the next several months, as the crew is working on a pretty tight schedule. Use this for comparison: “True Blood” started filming ten episodes for this year in early January; meanwhile, “Dexter” has to do twelve, and they are starting later in spite of the fact that the two shows’ premieres are likely to be very close to each other.

As for the major guest stars, no one has been confirmed save for Charlotte Rampling, Nick Gomez, and Sean Patrick Flanery. It is notable that Yvonne Strahovski just arrived back in Los Angeles after spending much of the past few months on Broadway with “Golden Boy,” but this could also be coincidental. Producers have said that they want Hannah McKay back in some form, and there may be some other characters from the past who could resurface (especially if it is the final season … in which case we beg for another Luman sighting).

Just for some fun, Jennifer Carpenter tweeted out this photo from the show’s production offices, which proves more than anything else that Sargent Doakes is always watching … even from beyond the grave. (Sadly, we would be very surprised if Erik King comes back again, given that his flashbacks during the season 7 finale were tied to LaGuerta).)

Are you ready for production to begin? If you want to check out some more recent announcements from Carpenter, you can do so over here. The new season officially begins filming on February 11.

Photo: Showtime, Twitter