The cast of Dexter: Resurrection teased how the new season will have a complicated father-son reunion, Detective Angel Batista's journey for the truth, and Harrison's future. The next chapter of Michael C. Hall's journey as everyone's favorite serial killer sees him survive his near fatal gunshot wound at the end of New Blood and move to New York City in an attempt to watch over his son, Jack Alcott's Harrison Morgan.
Once there, Dexter Morgan quickly finds himself deep in a unique situation: invited to a gathering of fellow serial killers thanks to rich philanthropist Leon Prater (Peter Dinklage). Those colorful murderers include Uma Thurman's Charley, Krysten Ritter's Mia Lapierre, David Dastmalchian's Gareth, Neil Patrick Harris' Lowell, and Eric Stonestreet's Al.
The Direct sat down with the cast of Paramount+'s latest series, which is now streaming its first two episodes, where they talked about their characters and teased the complicated and intriguing situations that the show has up its sleeve.
Jack Alcott, who plays Harrison Morgan, Dexter's son, spoke about how it's "a lot" to "be faced with your father," who "you presumably have killed." The actor further teased how "there's so much to be explored there" when it comes to their big father-son reunion, and that it's stuff that is "scary, but it opens a lot of doors."
James Remar, the man behind Harry Morgan, admitted that if he were the angel on Harrison's shoulder, he would "probably impart to him pretty much the same [advice]" that he gives Dexter: "be himself, take it easy and don't get caught."
The actor also teased Harrison's future, noting that when it comes to his potential upcoming career choice, "let's just say the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree."
Another big player in Dexter: Resurrection is David Zayas' Detective Angel Batista, who once shared a deep friendship with Dexter Morgan, is now on the hunt to find the truth—and the real identity of the Bay Harbor Butcher.
"He's one of the most honest cops that I've ever played," the actor admitted, further explaining how "his sense of justice is going to clash with the fact of how loyal he was to Dexter and how much he defended Dexter."
The entire list of talented cast members that we spoke with includes: Jack Alcott (Harrison Morgan), James Remar (Harry Morgan), David Zayas (Angel Batista), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Blessing Kamara), Dominic Fumusa (Melvin Oliva), Kadia Saraf (Claudette Wallace), and Emilia Suárez (Elsa Rivera).
The conversations with each of them can be found below, as they talk about their characters' journeys and why the legacy of Dexter continues to flourish.
Fans of serial killer stories should check out The Direct's interviews with he cast of IFC's horror film Dangerous Animals.
Jack Alcott Teases A Complicated Father-Son Reunion
"There's Just So Many Unresolved Feelings..."
Dexter: Resurrection sees the return of Jack Alcott's Harrison Morgan, who is living a new life in NYC haunted by killing his own father in Dexter: New Blood—or so he thinks. However, things don't go smoothly for him, as he quickly finds himself in a tricky situation after inexpediently murdering a terrible person.
It's a situation where he could really use his father's guidance, but even as the season begins, the two have yet to reunite. Though it's something that is bound to happen eventually, and when it does, there will be plenty of emotions to go around.
- The Direct: "One can only assume, going into this show, that you will eventually cross paths with Dexter once again. Hypothetically, when that moment comes to pass, what can you tease to audiences about the evolution of that father and son dynamic in the show and how will have changed since the last time we saw them?"
Jack Alcott: I feel like the ways in which it changes, you know, are just, that's an evolution in and of itself. I mean, obviously plenty changes when you think somebody's dead and you learn they're not, I mean, and that's the biggest surprise, you know, to receive, particularly for Harrison, who, I mean, has been hallucinating already and seeing other dead guys.
So, to be faced with your father, I mean, the other person that you presumably have killed, is a lot, and is believable. You know, after all of you know what's going on, but then to have him actually be there, yeah, that it's not a loose nation, that he's standing right there. I mean, that's enough to knock anybody off their feet and to reframe the world around them and like, what is going on.
I think it also offers a lot of opportunity. I mean, there's just so many unresolved feelings, positive ones, negative ones, and it's just, it's the opportunity to explore all of those, to, like, get some shit out in the open, to get across things that weren't communicated well before, in the light and the dark. I mean, there's so much to be explored there. And I think it's scary, but it opens a lot of doors.
James Remar on What Harry Morgan Would Say to Harrison
"Take It Easy and Don't Get Caught..."
James Remar plays Harrison Morgan, the ghost council to his son Dexter Morgan, and the angel on his shoulder. But what could that look like if he were able to advise his grandson?
- The Direct: "James, you obviously exist as kind of ghost council of sorts to Dexter, Morgan, but if you were the angel on Harrison's shoulder, what would you be saying to him as he's navigating his predicament throughout this season, and how would that advice change with him compared to Dexter?"
James Remar: I believe that I would probably impart to him pretty much the same thing. Most importantly, I would tell him to be himself, take it easy and don't get caught...
Funny thing is, though, that we all, so many of us as young men, say, I don't want to be anything like my dad. And a lot of times, they look at their grandfather and say, I want to be like him.
And you know, Harry was a hero in the Miami Metro Police Department, and yet, Dexter ends up working for the Miami Metro Police Department. And I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree.
David Zayas on If Angel Batista and Dexter's Friendship Can Pull Through
"His Sense of Justice Is Going to Clash With the Fact of How Loyal He Was to Dexter..."
David Zayas' Detective Angel Batista was once very close friends with Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan, but now he's hunting down his former bestie to confirm his suspicions: that Dexter has always been the true Bay Harbor Butcher.
- The Direct: "For all intents and purposes, Batista knows Dexter's real identity and knows what he's done and is simply looking for that proof. However, would you say that the end of the road is certainly kind of that deep feeling of betrayal and possible arrest, or do you think there's any world where their previous friendship will allow something different to unfold?"
David Zayas: Well, I mean, anything is possible, right? I think that if you look back at Batista's journey from the beginning, you know, that he's probably, he's one of the most honest cops that I've ever played.
And I think that his integrity and his sense of justice is going to clash with the fact of how loyal he was to Dexter and how much he defended Dexter when I tried to accuse him of different things, and I think that is the inner fighting that he's going to have in this journey... But how wonderful it is to play that.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine on Becoming a Friend to Dexter Morgan
Blessing Kamara Quickly Grows Close With Dexter in NYC.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine portrays Blessing Kamara in Dexter: Resurrection, a rideshare driver who becomes friends with Dexter and brings him under his wings.
- The Direct: "Ntare, speaking of friends, your character comes into the story and quickly gets close to Dexter and his new life in New York City. How would you say that their friendship opens up new avenues for the show to explore with Dexter as a character, and what do you think he would think if he ever learned what Batista knows?"
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine: Well, I think we're going to discover some things throughout the season that sort of answer that question. But I think one of the things that the writers did was they created this sense of joy, this sense of hope, and, you know, comfort food. He takes Dexter under his wings, literally gives him a place to commit his crimes under his own nose. And I think that's where the drama lies with things happening so close to his own right under his nose. I think we get to see walk that line of discovery...
Dominic Fumusa and Kadia Saraf on How Harrison Should Be Scared of Their Competent Cops
"I Think Together They Make a Very, Very Potent [Team]."
Dominic Fumusa and Kadia Saraf play detectives Oliva and Claudette in the series, who are sent to investigate a grisly murder, one committed by Harrison Morgan—not that they know that just yet.
- The Direct: "Dominic and Katia, you are both investigating a murder throughout the whole season, committed by a familiar face. Can you both talk about why your respective characters are so good at their jobs, and why Harrison should be scared?"
Dominic Fumusa: Well, you know, the NYPD is the best police force in the world. So, from that standpoint, anybody would be scared, I would think. But you know, in terms of the specificity of these two characters, they're really good at enhancing the other person's strengths.
And in particular, I think [Officer Oliva] understands Claudette in a way that nobody around them does, and so he's able to uniquely facilitate her skill set, give her room, let her do her thing, and always have her back. And you know, Oliva is more of an old school detective who fits in with the various what we call, more traditional, NYPD. Sort of environment. And, yeah, I think together they make a very, very potent [team].
Kadia Saraf: Claudette is an arrow going from A to B, really fast. And Oliva is the tail winds, or the wind around it, that actually directs it and allows for it to speed up without a lever, so that it can get there as fast, because there was there would be too much distraction and too much resistance from from the world around her. So I think the two of them together are something to fear and love.
Emilia Suárez on How Elsa Is Key to Keeping Harrison In the Light
"She's Actually Speaking to the Part of [Harrison] That Has Yet to Have the Opportunity to Flourish."
Emilia Suárez plays Elsa, a co-worker and close friend of Harrison at the hotel where they both work. In many ways, she's the only guiding light he has in his life.
- The Direct: Now, Emilia, your character [Elsa] is very close to Harrison, and in a lot of ways a pure force in his life. How does she help Harrison to stay on the right side of things, instead of falling deeper into darkness?
Emilia Suárez: I think she's a wonderful influence on Harrison. I think her clarity and direct nature and her kind of like disinterest in games, and she cares about people, and she's going to be open and confront things and be honest...
I think the goodness she sees in him is the true inherent goodness that he does have. And so she can speak to what is really pure about Harrison and actually bring that part out. It's not, you know, she's not speaking to this mask of this idea of who he wants to be.
She's actually speaking to the part of him that has yet to have the opportunity to flourish. And so I think that she is a really pure force in his life. I think it's exciting to see him have someone who can exhale around and be inspired to be good.
The Cast of Dexter: Resurrection on Why the Show's Legacy Perseveres
"It's About Serial Killers, Which Is Infinitely Interesting..."
- The Direct: "The legacy of Dexter is significant, and there's something to be said about how apt the title of this season is with the franchise, and how it is able to recover and continually come back and engage and entertain viewers. What do you both feel is so special about this series overall, and why it is able to continually connect with audiences in unique ways?"
Jack Alcott: I mean, I think that it represents sort of the best version of a really, really crazy kind of human duality in that, I mean, it's about outliers. It's about the most extreme characters and circumstances. It's about serial killers, which is infinitely interesting. I mean, we're always going to be looking towards the outliers and the most extreme examples of everything, and yet, somehow it's relatable, because that's the other thing that really sparks connection.
You know, being able to relate to a story, to relate to a circumstance, to relate to a character, and at least for myself, when I watch a movie, read a book, a play, anything like that, you want to find yourself in it, somewhere, relate to something, and when you can have that moment in something that's crazy, it's really, really special. And that's a credit to the writers on this show, and it's a massive credit to Michael C Hall and making such insane character so relatable.
James Remar: Dexter, played by Michael C Hall, is, oh my God, he's so infinitely neutral. And yet so seemingly compliant. He just kind of goes along with what everybody says as civilians, and yet, so incredibly intense and passionate and committed to his dark passenger, this impulse that is very, very deep and adhering to his dad's code that you don't kill any innocence.
And you know, early on, Harry said to Dexter, there are plenty of people that deserve it. Now, I don't know if deserves got anything to do with it, but everybody has someone in their life that has somehow crossed them in such a way that they just like, I want to kill that guy and and I feel that Dexter offers that sort of neutral, safe zone, where you can experience that sort of feeling without actually doing any real harm. Funny, that it's like, seems like such an isolated segment of society, and yet, we've got millions of viewers.
David Zayas: I mean, first of all, we have the best bunch of writers that any show can have. You know, these are writers who have done all their research. These are writers that know how to connect the dots from the original series to 'New Blood' to now 'Resurrection'...
When I read the first script of 'Resurrection,' I was like, wow, this is so good. And they just hit it on the head, and they're running with it. And so as an actor, I take that and it just makes me want to just dive into this character even more, to try and find different things that might help the story going on.
And so, It would come down to the writing of it. And as well as everyone who really cares about what they're doing, the crew, the actors, the directors, everybody, and it's a wonderful environment to work in as an actor.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine: Well, in addition to the writers, I mean, this guy, [David Zayas], he's been there from the beginning. People are checking in because of him. Like a huge draw. Michael C Hall, huge draw.
I mean, this is why we have people like Peter Dinklage, Uma Thurman, you know, the incredible stars that lined up because they want to work [with] these guys. So that's part of what made it a thrill for me to join and be a part of this show.
Kadia Saraf: It moves along with the times. I would say there is a much better understanding of nuance nowadays that we didn't have when the show started. We weren't really talking about nuance... Kind of other certain groups, other certain people. We didn't understand anything.
And now that we understand it, we can—there's so much more richness in the world of it, and to understand that there is not just bad or just good, we all have of both. And I think that's why it works so well, and why people resonate with the show so well, because we all see a little bit of ourselves and at least one of the characters, yeah, I see myself, sure.
Dominic Fumusa: I would just say I think one of the biggest ingredients that makes the show so successful is its ability to go to very intense, dark places and still keep a sense of humor. There is a lightness to the story, even though we're talking about maybe the most serious and quite frankly deadly of topics.
You know, it's a dark it's a dark milieu, but the writers and Michael C. Hall have been able to walk that line so that even though he is the ultimate anti-hero, we never stop rooting for him. We never stop losing faith that he's going to take us down a path that we're going to want to go and it's been going on now for decades, and it's incredible, because I can't think of any other show in the history of television that's been able to do it as successfully, and as long as this is this show has been able to do it.
The full video interviews can be viewed below:
