“You Might Be Someone Whose Days Are Numbered”

The deadly role Michael C. Hall stepped into two decades ago is getting a fresh new revival in the latest spin-off series, Dexter: Resurrection. Not only is television’s most infamous serial killer rising from the dead, but he may be joining forces with a league of extraordinarily unhinged killers, brought to life on-screen by an ensemble cast.

In the 10-episode first season, while Dexter is on the hunt for his son (Jack Alcott) in New York, fans will be introduced to a fearsome “world of killers,” portrayed by Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris, Krysten Ritter, David Dastmalchian, and Eric Stonestreet. Will these new friends pose a threat to Dexter’s code, or open up new doors for his Dark Passenger?

In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Hall and David Zayas, who reprises his role as the flagship series’ Detective Angel Batista, discuss this surprising return to the Dexterverse after the seemingly fatal finale of Dexter: New Blood. Find out how New York City provides a new stomping ground and new, nefarious opportunities for Dexter, as well as how the show’s ensemble cast will influence the code he’s lived by for so long. They also chat about the unbelievably quick production for Resurrection, and Zayas shares what it was like working alongside Glen Powell in Edgar Wright‘s upcoming take on The Running Man.

‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Drops Our Antihero Into a “World of Killers”

Michael C. Hall and David Zayas discuss how New York City will change the game for these two OG characters.

COLLIDER: Thank you for your work over the last 20 years. I’m a huge fan of Dexter. The new series looks fantastic. I’m really looking forward to seeing where it’s going, and I think one of the reasons it looks so good is that New York City just adds so much to the show. Can you talk about what New York City adds as a character?

MICHAEL C. HALL: It’s a new place for Dexter to disappear, to hide in plain sight in a way that he hasn’t had since he was in Miami. It’s definitely a place where anything can happen and anyone can be, and so it’s sort of wide open in terms of the kinds of unsavory characters that he’s kind of built to attract. There’s going to be a lot more of those opportunities. I think Dexter is in a place where he’s trying to draw more concrete, angular lines internally between his human life and his Dark Passenger life, and New York seems like an architecturally appropriate place for that to happen. It’s rich and gives us a lot on every level.

DAVID ZAYAS: Being from New York myself, first of all, it was wonderful to be able to work at home, which was great. That being said, it was difficult for me to know that I’m in New York, my home, yet Angel Batista is from Miami, so I had to find new ways of being surprised or being astonished by the amazing part of New York that, usually, I take for granted because I live there. So, that was an interesting concept in trying to do it in New York City.

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‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Is Intended To Last for “Years” According to Michael C. Hall and Clyde Phillips

“We’ve got the strongest franchise in Showtime’s history.”

I read that you guys started filming in early January of this year, and I just want to know, how the F is it coming out so soon?

HALL: Tell me about it. We have two and a half weeks left of filming, so we will have finished filming the entirety of the series by the time it airs, but from a post-production standpoint, things will still need to be edited and sound mixed, etc., etc., etc. So, yeah, it’s a tight deadline. It’s kind of nice. You don’t really have the luxury of going over. It’s like, “We’ve got to do it. We gotta do it in the time allotted.” And that’s kind of a nice pressure in a way. But yeah, it’s a pretty quick turnaround.

It’s amazing. I’m super happy you’re turning it around so fast. That’s the advantage of not having a CGI show. Have you guys read the finale’s script, and if you have, what do you think fans are going to say after they see the episode?

HALL: Hopefully, it will be satisfying. There are a lot of balls in the air, and they all kind of coalesce into one big climactic ball of story. I hope they’ll be satisfied. I hope they’ll feel like they went on a thrill ride, and are maybe looking forward to seeing what happens beyond this. But, yeah, I’ve definitely read the script. That’s one luxury; while there’s a quick turnaround, all the scripts were pretty much fully executed by the time we started, so we had a sense of the entirety of the story.

ZAYAS: I think people are going to be very pleasantly surprised as to the dynamics and the power of the last couple of episodes. Just taking myself out of it, as a fan, I’m looking forward to watching it.

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‘Dexter: Resurrection’ Can’t Forget the Most Important Aspect of the Original Series

“I built my life on Harry’s code.”

‘Dexter: Resurrection’s All-Star Cast May Not Be Long for This World

“You might be someone whose days are numbered.”

I want to read some names. You have Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris, and Krysten Ritter. You have this all-star lineup of actors that are joining, and I’m just curious, did anyone come in and say, “I’ll do the show, but I need Dexter to kill me?”

HALL: If so, I wasn’t informed that they said that. I think anyone who’s familiar with the show knows that it’s an occupational hazard that if you sign up to be on the show, and you’re a certain type of character, you might be someone whose days are numbered. But it was really gratifying for us that we were able to attract people of this caliber to join us. It’s a very cool thing that the show maintains, not just with an audience, but with a community of actors a sort of pedigree that attracts them to sign up.

What’s interesting is how you guys have gone from being friends to now being adversaries. Can you talk about how the relationship has changed and what Batista is willing to do to catch Dexter, especially after he got away in Episode 1?

ZAYAS: That’s the question, isn’t it? What is he prepared to do to seek justice? You have to remember that Batista, though flawed, is also very much honest and very much has a very legal look at things to do things the right way. What is he prepared to do now that he’s got information that’s different? And how is he going to present it in a city he doesn’t know? That’s going to be the challenge.

Clyde [Phillips] has talked about how he envisions Resurrection as a multi-season show. He thinks it could be more than one season. For the two of you, what has he said to you guys? How much do you know?

HALL: I have a sense of the very, very, very broad strokes in terms of what the future might hold. I think we never imagined that this would be a one-off.

ZAYAS: I don’t know. I’m not privy to that information.

Is New York City Going to Change Dexter’s Code?

“It’s enticing for him, and tempting to have a sense of connection with these people.”

What’s really interesting about this season is how it’s so different from the two series before, which is that you now have Dexter, who is going to be around other serial killers who probably don’t have the same code that he was brought up with. I’m just curious if these other serial killers and being around these other people will impact Dexter’s psychology in terms of how he might operate, because they’re completely operating on a different level.

HALL: It’s enticing for him, and tempting to have a sense of connection with these people because they have something fundamentally in common with him. But I think what’s revealed is that there’s something that sets him apart, and maybe he’ll find himself all the more connected to a sense of ownership of why he’s different and why the code makes him different, and why it’s more than just the code, but maybe something that’s grown to be inherent in him in terms of his own sense of justice. But yeah, I think that’s what was really exciting about dumping Dexter into this world of killers. It’s a chance to both connect with and distinguish himself from these people. I think he ultimately discovers that he is like them, but ultimately somewhat of a different animal.

David Zayas “Had a Great Time” With Glen Powell on the Set of ‘The Running Man’

“He’s really one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met in this business.”

David, one of my favorite filmmakers is Edgar Wright, and I believe you’re in The Running Man. What was it like to be part of that project? What can you tease about your character? I’m really looking forward to the film.

ZAYAS: It’s a really wonderful film. Reading it, there are a lot of really great actors doing small parts, cameos, and coming in. Yes, I was involved in it, and it’s really just a couple of scenes. Working with Edgar Wright was really, really interesting, as well as working with Glen Powell, who’s really wonderful in this. I had a great time with him. I think he’s really one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met in this business, and knows how to communicate and articulate his vision to the other actors. It was a wonderful experience.

Dexter: Resurrection Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2, premieres on Paramount+ with Showtime on July 11, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.