After a finale that left a bad taste in many fans' mouths, Dexter is returning to TV in 2021 with a revival show featuring Michael C. Hall reprising his role as the killer with a conscience. Hall has now shared a little more insight on what drew him back to the show after so many years away. He also touched on the series finale and whether or not the criticisms are valid.

　　"It's a conversation that's been ongoing, and different possibilities have emerged over the years. I think in this case, the story that’s being told is worth telling in a way that other proposals didn't, and I think enough time has passed where it’s become intriguing in a way that it wasn't before," Hall told The Daily Beast.

　　Hall also reflected on the divisive ending to Dexter, where he basically exiles himself to a life as a lumberjack in the north. Hall acknowledged that the ending was "pretty unsatisfying" for some people, with many wondering what Dexter would do next in his life. Hall felt that way, too.

　　"I include myself in the group of people that wondered, 'What the hell happened to that guy?' So I'm excited to step back into it. I've never had that experience of playing a character this many years on."

　　Asked directly if he thought the criticisms of the finale were valid, Hall said, "A criticism that speaks to someone's experience is warranted."

　　The ending for Dexter, the character, was justifiable, according to Hall, but he acknowledged that the ending we were given was not enough for some people.

　　"I certainly thought it was justifiable for Dexter to do what he did. I think some of the criticisms were about that, and some of the criticisms weren't so much about the 'what' as they were about the 'how,' and those were valid too. We certainly do live in an era where the bar is very high as far as the simultaneous surprise, satisfaction, and closure that should go along with a series finale."

　　The new Dexter TV show will not re-write the ending to the original show, but it is promising other ways to satisfy fans.

　　"We basically do get to start from scratch," showrunner Clyde Phillips said in an earlier interview. "We want this to not be Dexter Season 9."

　　The series will pick up close to 10 years after that finale, and will "have no resemblance to how that original finale was." However, everything we saw still happened in-universe. "We're not going to betray the audience and say, 'Whoops, that was all a dream.' What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years," Phillips said.

　　The new Dexter TV show is expected to air in 2021 on Showtime, the same network that will carry the Halo TV show.