Dexter Producers Didn’t Want Anyone To Know These Facts About The Show

‘Dexter’ was always the crime show with a difference thanks to the criminal in question working for the Miami Metro Police. Just because we saw behind Dexter’s actions doesn’t mean that we know everything about the show. It’s been several years since ‘Dexter’ was last on our screens. That doesn’t mean fans have forgotten and moved on, as the show is getting its reboot in fall 2021 to give the people what they want. So what about the original series? It turns out there was plenty about ‘Dexter’ and the cast we never learned.

A commercial for Dexter in Australia sparked several complaints

If there’s one thing you want to do when promoting a show, it’s get people talking about the series. It seemed that the team working on ‘Dexter’ managed to do it back in 2008, but it might not have been for the right reasons. The problem? A commercial made for Australia. In the ad, we see the title character waiting to board a plane to Adelaide.

Dexter explains to a passerby that it’s because the city has more people that take other people’s lives “per capita than any other city in Australia.” A tourism spokesperson wasn’t pleased, and it seems plenty of Australians weren’t either as they thought it looked bad on the city. However, the ad worked because people were more excited about the series than ever.

Michael C. Hall almost didn’t agree to play the part of Dexter

It can be tough to imagine anyone other than Michael C. Hall playing the part of Dexter as the actor seems to bring the character to life better than anyone else could ever. Michael was already an established name in the industry thanks to his time in the drama series ‘Six Feet Under.’ However, it was appearing in the TV show that inspired Michael to take his career in a new direction.

He wanted to work on projects for the big screen, but that all changed when he first read the script for ‘Dexter.’ Apparently, the actor loved how many layers came with Dexter and knew he could twist them into something iconic. Plus, the sense of humor and ethics Dexter created were all Michael needed to agree.

Dexter inspired a copycat criminal in the real world

It’s no secret that people who take other people’s lives often create copycat crimes for all kinds of reasons. Sadly, it appears that ‘Dexter’ inspired someone to try their hand at crimes in the real world. That came in the form of Mark Twitchell, who was convicted of luring Johnny Altinger and ending his life in almost an identical way to the lead character of the show.

Mark was sentenced to life, but he’s not alone. 17-year-old Steven Miles was just 16 when he stabbed his girlfriend and followed the same ritual as Dexter with her body. In the end, he was convicted to 25 years behind bars after admitting he learned about the crimes from watching the show and becoming obsessed with Dexter.

The first season of Dexter was actually based on a book

Perhaps you’ve found yourself wondering how the creators of the show even thought up a character like Dexter in the first place? It turns out they might have had a little inspiration. That’s because Jeff Lindsay released a book titled ‘Darkly Dreaming Dexter’ in 2004, and it quickly became the first of eight in the series.

Although the first season of the show follows the books, ‘Dexter’ the series drifted away from the original story as the series progressed. Jeff later admitted that he thought taking someone’s life “isn’t always a bad thing,” as Dexter always had a list of rules and The Code he stuck to throughout his life. Having those morals is what made him so different from everyone else.

Michael C. Hall went to extreme measures to prepare for the role of Dexter

There is method acting, and then there’s taking things as far as Michael C. Hall did when preparing for his time as Dexter Morgan. It seems he wanted to get into the mind of someone who could take another’s life and decided the best way to go about it all was to follow people for as long as possible.

Michael later admitted in 2013 that he would pick a random person and stalk them around New York to see how long it would take to get caught. However, the actor says that he would never take it any further and was merely research. It certainly paid off, as Michael ended up bringing one of the most striking performances to life.

Dexter took more lives than many people realized throughout the show

It was no secret that Dexter Morgan took a lot of people’s lives throughout the series. After all, the entire show starts with us being introduced to his Dark Passenger and walking through his process as he tries to keep his urges under control. For anyone counting, they might have figured out that Dexter ended up taking at least 135 people’s lives throughout all eight seasons on the air.

However, there is no telling how many more took their final breath at the hands of Dexter away from the cameras. If Dexter were a real person, his body count would make him one of the most prolific criminals of all time – and probably one of the most sought-after by law enforcement.

The plastic wrap almost actually suffocated people on Dexter

One of the most memorable parts of Dexter is the plastic wrap he uses in each of his special rooms. After all, he was a blood-spatter analyst; there was no way that Dexter was going to let something as simple as a piece of evidence give away his game. Even though it was a major part of the series and became pretty iconic, it turns out the plastic had to be altered after the first season.

The crew quickly realized it could be dangerous and decided to separate the plastic into sections instead. Plus, if you look closely, you might notice that in later seasons that all of Dexter’s victims are only held at the feet, hips, torso, and head instead of their entire bodies.

Creating the plastic rooms took a lot of time and effort

A lot of thought went into every aspect of filming ‘Dexter,’ including bringing his plastic-wrapped rooms to life. In the show, it always seemed as though it took an hour or two to put them all together. The reality? The crew would spend around eight or nine hours putting the rooms together – and that was all before they could even film the scene.

It turns out they really did wrap every single piece of furniture and all fittings in the room to make it as authentic as possible. Apparently, the crew would usually film these scenes at the end of the day, so they had time to prepare the rooms. Plus, they really did use one or two lights to make it look even more sinister.

Taking the fake crime scene photos could take hours behind the scenes

The team working on ‘Dexter’ always wanted to ensure that things were as authentic-looking as possible. One of the many things they worked on behind the scenes came in the form of all the crime scene photos used throughout the show. Apparently, the most difficult ones to create were those in Trinity’s case simply because they needed so many.

Prop master Joshua Meltzer admitted to spending hours working with different actors in various spots around the set and in warehouses to get all of the photos. For each one, they would have to set up any blood around the scene, get someone to pose, and take multiple pictures to ensure they had the perfect shot. Sometimes, Joshua and the team could spend 12 hours just taking photos.

Real flies and maggots were used to try and make things as authentic as possible

With so many CGI artists on the market, it can be easy to assume that a lot of what took place on ‘Dexter’ were all added in after scenes had been shot. Amazingly, it seems that might not have been the case after all. There were a handful of times when the team walked in on crime scenes that had been sat for a while.

The show wanted to use flies and maggots to make things look as realistic as possible – so that’s precisely what they did. Josh Meltzer admitted he would use a fake body, so someone didn’t have to be subject to the bugs. However, in one particular scene, they realized 2,000 maggots just weren’t enough, so they used brown rice to pack out certain areas.

The knives used by Dexter were also real and dangerous

Just like many of us wouldn’t be complete without something special in our lives, Dexter Morgan isn’t complete without his knives. They were what he used in just about every single one of his crimes. The twist? All of those chainsaws, knives, and blades were always real; they would simply dull down the edges to make them as safe as possible.

When using the knives, Dexter would usually go through most of the scene with the real one, use a rubber one when attacking someone, and finish with a prop knife complete with retractable blade before the takes were all edited together to create the final shot. The team would also use prop handles to sometimes make it look like someone had a knife in their body.

Even the syringe Dexter used was real but wasn’t used on people

Each victim of Dexter’s usually met the same fate – and it all started with a syringe filled with animal tranquilizer. It can be easy to think this was a fake needle as it’s such a small prop on the show, but it turns out that even the syringe was always real. However, they didn’t simply cross their fingers and hope Michael C. Hall knew his way around a needle.

Instead, they would use a fake syringe just before Dexter used it on his victim that came with a retractable needle. Joshua Meltzer confessed he would always keep the syringes in his office but made sure they were carefully labeled so the real and prop needle didn’t get confused behind the scenes.

Joshua Meltzer became known as “The Blood Guy” after his work on Dexter

Dexter Morgan earned plenty of nicknames throughout his time on the show. One that came up time and time again was The Blood Guy. Although his work was usually the thing that helped to make or break cases, Dexter and Vince were always viewed as the nerds. However, it seems that Dex wasn’t the only blood guy on the set.

The other title went to none other than Joshua Meltzer. Throughout his years on the show, Josh worked on his own recipe for fake blood, including spills that could be moved and stored away without any clean-up. It turned out that he and the team made blood puddles out of silicon that were simply placed underneath an actor when needed.

The slides Dexter kept didn’t actually contain real blood

One of the many roles that Dexter learned along the way was never to keep trophies from his crimes. At least, he kind of stuck to this rule. Rather than taking a piece of physical evidence, Dexter would always cut the victim’s cheek and add a drop of their blood to a slide. That was until one slide almost undid his entire work and got him caught.

For years, we saw Dexter stare longingly at his blood slide collection, but did you know that they never contained any blood? Instead, Joshua Meltzer created a custom blood recipe that used peppermint oil to ward off insects, dish soap, and furniture dye. It’s estimated that the team used 25 gallons of the stuff in season five alone.

Creating the blood samples was all done with a special trick

Talking of the blood slides, getting the blood to put in them was all a part of the ritual that most of us came so used to seeing throughout the years. Dexter would always cut the person’s cheek, but that didn’t mean someone had to be harmed to make it look realistic. Instead, Michael C. Hall used a dull scalpel to get the same effect.

As soon as he pressed down, the blade would trigger a hidden capsule. This then released the fake blood and made it look as though Dex really had just cut someone. A sprayer attached just below the camera then activated during the deed to splatter blood far and wide in the room, including all over Dexter.

The locusts used in one of Doomsday’s crimes had to be added through CGI

It seems the team working on ‘Dexter’ was willing to go as far as possible to make everything as realistic as they could. However, there were certain times they had to resort to CGI. One of those came when the team was investigating Doomsday in season six, someone who was inspired by the Book of Revelation.

It turns out that the seven-headed gator and other crime scenes were all real. However, they drew the line with the plague of locusts. Instead, the team decided to CGI all of them. Apparently, Joshua and the team were worried about a crew being stuck in a greenhouse with the locusts and thought that even a few real ones weren’t necessary, thanks to the power of CGI.

Julie Benz initially auditioned to play the part of Debra Morgan

Julie Benz was the face of Rita, a character that most grew to love throughout the first half of the show. Although she initially started as a cover for Dexter’s Dark Passenger, he eventually grew to fall in love and walk down the aisle with Rita. However, there was once a time the character could have looked very different.

That’s because Julie initially tried out for the part of Debra Morgan, Dexter’s sister. Julie was keen to play Debra as she wanted to curse on TV and thought she was the perfect fit, but the casting directors had other ideas. Instead, they imagined Julie as Rita and asked her to read for the character. Julie fell in love with the role, and the rest is history.

Rita’s passing in Dexter was a difficult scene to shoot for the cast

Believe it or not, but Julie Benz only found out how her character was going to pass away an hour before they shot the finale of season four. Plus, the team waited until the end of the season’s shooting and told others about a fake ending to keep the secret as hidden as possible.

In the end, it worked, but it didn’t make Rita’s passing any easier to film – for a host of reasons. One of the biggest things was the bathtub Rita lost her life in was on a soundstage and wasn’t meant to be plumbed in. The crew had to rush to get the tub working to ensure they could get the blood in and out without causing even more of a mess.

Julie Benz tried to lighten the mood during her final day of filming

Keeping Rita’s passing a secret until the last possible moment meant that most of the cast didn’t get a chance to mourn the loss of their co-star. After all, they had worked together for years and grown pretty close to each other in that time. Just because it quickly became a sad day when everyone learned of Rita’s fate didn’t mean that Julie Benz wanted to let it get her down.

Instead, the actress decided to lighten the mood. She ended up making a fake headstone out of Styrofoam from around the set and sat it in the bathtub to try and make people laugh. Julie knew just as well as everyone else that certain scenes know how to bring the mood down.

Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall were married in real life

Jennifer Carpenter was the face of Debra Morgan throughout the show. In a bizarre twist in the series, she ends up getting romantic feelings for her adopted brother, but it turns out that it might not have been too hard for Jennifer to act. That’s because Jennifer and Michael C. Hall were actually married in real life – and it was all thanks to the show.

The couple met on ‘Dexter’ and eventually walked down the aisle in 2008. Unfortunately, things weren’t to last as they ended up divorced by 2011, and they had to continue to work together for the rest of the show. Thankfully, even though their relationship didn’t last, the pair remained friends after the split and didn’t let it get in the way of the series.

Julia Stiles was blamed for Jennifer and Michael getting a divorce

Season five of ‘Dexter’ saw Julia Stiles join the lineup as she brought Lumen to life. However, some believed there was more to the actress and her time on the show. Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter announced they were going their separate ways shortly before the season hit the air, and fans believed it was Lumen’s relationship with Dexter that caused the breakdown.

In the show, the pair fall in love before they split. Still, Julia says that she had nothing to do with the real-life split. Instead, she released a statement that said she always enjoyed acting alongside Michael in the show. Julia also added that it was a personal matter between Michael and Jennifer, not anything she had done that caused their marriage to end.

Jennifer Carpenter took full advantage of being able to cuss on TV

Debra Morgan was at the center of plenty of wild storylines throughout ‘Dexter.’ She was a dedicated detective who would often give her all to the job, even if it often got in the way of her personal life. Jennifer Carpenter had a lot to like about playing the character, including the fact that she could cuss on TV.

Many fans of the show remember her favorite word – that just so happened to begin with F. It seems that Jennifer wanted to take full advantage of her ability to curse, as fans later counted that she said her favorite word a whopping 996 times throughout the show. While it might seem excessive, there was a reason that Deb was known as the potty-mouth cop.

David Zayas worked as a police officer before his time as Angel Batista

‘Dexter’ brought plenty of characters to life, including Angel Batista. Throughout the show, we get to see the character’s career go from strength to strength, especially when Angel is finally promoted to lieutenant. Believe it or not, but it turns out that David Zayas, the man behind Angel, actually used to work as a cop before he was an actor.

David was a police officer working in New York City throughout his 20s while he worked on his acting career. Thankfully, this meant that he was more experienced than most when it came to signing up for the show. David later confessed that no one on the force other than his partner knew he wanted to be an actor, with the pair practicing lines while out on patrol.

Jeremy Renner didn’t want to play Brian Moser after bringing Jeffrey Dahmer to life

It was no secret that working on ‘Dexter’ was a lot for any actor, thanks to the subject of the show. It seems it was this kind of dedication and mental toll that saw Jeremy Renner turn down the part of Brian Moser. Jeremy had already played the role of infamous criminal Jeffrey Dahmer in a 2002 biopic about his life.

Apparently, the show was desperate to get Jeremy on the show. Still, the actor later confessed that he wasn’t ready to play someone else so dangerous and evil. After all, he had already played someone so horrific and knew it took a lot out of him. In the end, the part of Brian was handed to Christian Camargo, who played Dexter’s brother perfectly.

One of Brian Moser’s crime scenes had to be filmed in public

Brain Moser was the first of many serial criminals to be introduced on the show. He became known as the Ice Truck criminal thanks to the vehicle he used to transport his victims around Miami. However, there was one scene that will often stand out to the crew. That came when Brian left Dexter a Christmas gift in the form of a new victim laid out under a tree.

The team had to use silicone to make the fake fingers, as all of Brian’s victims were supposed to be drained of blood. They then created a scene in Long Beach, a popular tourist destination, that was in full view of the public. Of course, they all got plenty of looks as ‘Dexter’ was still yet to hit the air.

Working on Doomsday turned into a much larger project that the Dexter team regretted

Doomsday was one of the biggest storylines the team on ‘Dexter’ brought to life throughout the show. After all, his crimes and victims were taken above and beyond anything they had ever done, including people with snakes in their stomachs, someone sitting on top of a seven-headed gator, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, complete with an unwilling victim.

However, the team later learned that creating Doomsday’s crime scenes was a much bigger task than they ever realized. To make matters worse, it seems that fans weren’t all overly impressed with the story. They learned their lesson, as ‘Dexter’ quickly returned to focusing on character reflective stories instead of the larger productions like Doomsday. The move back seemed to pay off for the show.

Daniel Licht reused his previous music throughout Dexter

Daniel Licht was once an in-demand music composer for several productions. Sadly, the composer lost his life in 2017, but Daniel’s many pieces of work mean that his memory will live on forever. One of the most iconic moments from his career came when Daniel worked on the anthology movie ‘Necronomicon.’ Here, we were first introduced to the musical piece ‘Because the Dawn.’

Even though it was an iconic piece of music from the film, Daniel later reused the music as a part of the opening theme for ‘Dexter.’ It turns out that he was often inspired by his past work when working on the show as Daniel wanted to use all of his experience to make ‘Dexter’ as suspenseful as possible.

Arthur Mitchell’s character was inspired by a real-life criminal

One of the many criminals brought to life on the show came in the form of Arthur Mitchell, who was known to most of Miami Metro as Trinity. He became the obsession of Frank Lundy, who lost his life investigating the serial criminal who ultimately found himself on Dexter’s table. It turns out that Arthur was based on real-life criminal BTK, aka Dennis Rader.

BTK was also a family man who spent most of his life working with the church and within the community before committing his horrific crimes behind closed doors. In the end, John Lithgow, the man behind Arthur, became known as one of the creepiest criminals seen on the show and won an Emmy for his incredible performance.

John Lithgow had conflicting thoughts about his character on Dexter

It might come as little surprise that fans of ‘Dexter’ weren’t too keen on Arthur Mitchell after they learned he took Rita’s life and left Harrison on the floor to sit in her blood. It was a major moment in the show and marked the start of a new chapter for Dexter. However, John Lithgow was one of the few who felt drawn to Arthur.

The actor confessed that he always found Arthur intriguing as he was constantly battling an inner conflict thanks to the fact he was an evil character who wanted to be better. John added that Arthur was almost like Dexter – but much worse. Of all the villains the actor has brought to life, he says that Arthur was the most complex.

The actor believes Tony Soprano and Dexter should meet for lunch

John Lithgow has shared plenty of thoughts about Dexter and his time on the show throughout the years. One of the many revelations he’s given the world is how he believes that Dexter and Tony Soprano should be introduced over lunch. The actor is probably the first to say the two characters’ names in the same sentence.

However, John admitted to The Los Angeles Times that he sees “many similarities” between the two. John continued to add that James Gandolfini, the man behind Tony, and Michael are “both great, smart actors” who knew what it took to bring their characters to life. While there are some significant differences, it certainly seems that Dexter and Tony could have a lot in common.

Michael C. Hall secretly battled cancer while working on season five

One of the biggest things to come out of ‘Dexter’ throughout the years is how the star of the show was secretly battling cancer at one point. In fact, Michael C. Hall continued to play Dexter throughout season five, only opting to get treatment for the illness once they wrapped on the season.

He was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Michael later confessed that he had to wear a wig at times to try and hide his diagnosis from the rest of the world. Thankfully, Michael managed to pull off an impressive season even though he was battling cancer and ultimately went on to make a full recovery. Michael really was that dedicated to the show.

Yvonne Strahovski was less than impressed with how things ended for Hannah on Dexter

There weren’t many love interests who came into Dexter’s life throughout the show. However, it seemed he had met his perfect match when he was introduced to Hannah McKay. Dexter realizes that Hannah was more involved with her partner’s former crimes than anyone ever discovered but quickly realizes he has feelings for the criminal once Hannah is on his table.

Apparently, actress Yvonne Strahovski already knew that she would be a significant part of Dexter’s life when she signed up for the show. However, she was less than impressed with how things ended for her character. After all, Hannah was on the run from the law, leading Yvonne to believe that Hannah should have lost her life to complete the story.

Jennifer Carpenter also wasn’t happy with how things ended for Debra Morgan

The end of any show means there are usually plenty of loose ends that need to be tied up to keep everyone happy. On the one hand, Jennifer Carpenter was glad that Deb ended up losing her life as it meant that no one was left wondering what happened to her once the cameras stopped rolling.

However, she wasn’t pleased that Dexter was the one to make that choice. For a long time, Jennifer believed that Debra should have taken her own life and been given a choice about what happened to her. Instead, Deb ends up in the ocean just like everyone else who loses their life to Dexter after he decides to turn off his sister’s life support machine.

Dexter wasn’t supposed to survive at the end of the show

Fans of ‘Dexter’ have never been quiet about their distaste for the finale of the show. After all, most wanted to see some kind of comeuppance for the star of the show or, at the very least, some sort of reflection on everything he had been through over the years. Instead, Dexter leaves to become a lumberjack – but that wasn’t the original plan.

Writers initially hoped that Dexter would be taken to the Florida Penitentiary, where he woke up on the execution table. As soon as the deed was about to be done, Dexter was then going to look out of the window and see everyone he had ended throughout his life. It was going to be a flashback of his journey, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Michael C. Hall wished that Dexter lost his life at the end of the show

It turns out that it wasn’t just ‘Dexter’ fans who were upset by the series finale, as Michael C. Hall was also left with mixed emotions when it came to his character’s fate. To start, Michael believed that it was best if Dexter lost his life after everything that he’d done.

It wasn’t until he thought about the idea that the actor realized living in exile with none of his loved ones was enough of a punishment on its own. Apparently, Michael now wishes that another character, such as Debra, had ended his life, even talking about the season before the final when she had the chance to finish him over LaGuerta. Instead, Dexter ends up in his own log prison.

Dexter is set to return to our screens in 2021

It’s been eight years since ‘Dexter’ was last on our screens, but at last, fans can rejoice as the show is back for a one-off series. Michael C. Hall is set to make his return and pick up the story ten years down the line in fall 2021. There has been a lot of talk about where the show can go from the finale, especially as so many people weren’t impressed with the last episode.

Teasers appear to show Dexter going under the name of Jim Lindsay, a man who’s made a career for himself at a fishing shop. It also seems as though Harrison had grown into a teenager and could be onto the secrets that his father left behind all those years ago.

Debra Morgan is set to make her return to the show, but no one quite knows how

It’s no secret that Debra Morgan lost her life at the end of the show. To many, there is no way that she can come back from her exit as it was made pretty clear that Deb couldn’t come back to life. However, Hollywood Reporter has since confirmed that Jennifer Carpenter will be one of the original cast making their way back for the new series.

Jennifer has understandably been pretty quiet about her return, only stating that “I don’t think I’m a ghost.” Instead, she thinks that she is there to protect, haunt, and care for her brother. For now, all we have to go on is that it seems Deb might step in as the new Harry who followed Dexter in the original show.

Not many familiar faces are set to return to Dexter

One question on many people’s lips is who will return to ‘Dexter’ from the original cast? Of course, Michael C. Hall is back. However, it seems that most of the cast will now be played by new characters. Jamie Chung is set to be a podcaster who is caught up in the mystery of the show, while Clancy Brown is cast as an unofficial mayor.

An unexpected addition comes in the form of John Lithgow. Of course, Arthur Mitchell was ended back in season four, but it seems the show wants to bring him back for the new series. How that will be, we have no idea, with some predicting in the form of flashbacks or as a spiritual being.

The return of Dexter doesn’t want to undo the original ending to the show

The finale of the show will forever live on as one of the most questionable of all time. However, the team doesn’t want to try and undo what they created all those years ago. Many of the team and creators have been open by saying they lost their way in the final few seasons of ‘Dexter’ and never knew how to look that far into the future.

Rather than creating a new series for the show, they want to give people the closure they hoped for all those years ago. Some worry that it would turn out Dexter’s life was all a dream, but that would undo an entire franchise. Hopefully, their second try will give people the stories they want to see come to life.

The cast of Dexter has always been loyal and dedicated to each other, and the show

It can be easy to think that the cast of shows get along behind closed doors only to learn there is a lot of tension on set. Thankfully, it seems that everyone working on ‘Dexter’ was always a part of the team – and it shows in the final product. To start, plenty of co-stars have spoken about Michael C. Hall’s acting talents, even going as far as to say he’s one of the best actors of all time.

Just like Dexter, Michal was always attentive and precise, something that seemed to rub off on the rest of the cast. The crew often stated that everyone wanted to see the show succeed, so they would work as hard as possible and keep focus at every moment.