Dexter Attacks Comic-Con: Get the Roundup and Watch the Killer New Season-Six Video!

Michael C. Hall & Co. tell us what to expect when our favorite vigilante murderer returns to TV Oct. 2

By Drusilla Moorhouse Jul 22, 2011 4:46 AMTags

Set your DVRs and lock your doors: Dexter is returning to on Oct. 2.

Showtime announced the season-six premiere date at today's boisterous Comic-Con panel, where fans applauded the tantalizing new season preview video.

Why is the trailer rocking to Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus"? Who made a surprise appearance at the panel? And what is Colin Hanks' role this season? We've got all the scoop from star Michael C. Hall and the rest of the Dexter gang…

Reach Out and Touch Faith: "Dexter is motivated to give his son some kind of spiritual grounding" Michael C. Hall told us in the press room about the coming season's storyline. "[Baby Harrison] is growing into being a little boy—he is only going to get older and in need of guidance, and Dexter feels ill equipped to provide that...Because of that he's open to things he wouldn't otherwise be open to, cultivating spiritual life in a way. As things in Dexter's world often do, that becomes magnet that attracts a lot of stuff." Ruh-roh. Dexter's struggle is characterized, says executive producer Sara Colleton, by his "desire to define faith—which is by its nature undefinable."

Great Leap Forward: The show jumps ahead one year after the season-five finale, says Colleton: "Dexter finished his year of atonement [and the focus returns] to the Dark Passenger." Adds MCH: "The Lumen [Julia Stiles] character/story allowed Dexter to actively atone for the responsibility Dexter has for Rita's death. He's been through that, he's processed that, and Lumen recognized the impossibility of a healthy union with Dexter. He's completely unplugged from that experience and is back to his killing ways."

Luminaries Replacing Lumen: Guest stars this season include Colin Hanks, Edward James Olmos, Mos Def and Billy Brown. Hanks plays coy about his character, joking, "I can neither confirm nor deny any involvement on the Dexter program." Fortunately, new show runner Scott Buck was more forthcoming: Hanks' character, Travis Marshall, "works in a museum and cleans up ancient artifacts—and he gets pulled into Dexter's world." Battlestar Galactica's Olmos plays an "equally mysterious character, Professor Gellar; Billy Brown is playing a new detective in the office [and] Mos is a street creature who crosses Dexter's path." Mos crossed our path at today's Comic-Con panel, joining the line of fans asking questions of the panel; the ballroom erupted when he asked whether he could join them onstage. (The answer was yes: Everyone moved over and gave him a chair.)

Ripped From the Headlines: Hall denied that the Casey Anthony case will inspire a Dexter episode ("Dexter Morgan" trended on Twitter after the verdict was announced), saying, "People who have gotten away with it have always been inspiration for the show." Besides, Colin Hanks, added, "Law & Order does that very well."

D-I-V-O-R-C-E? When asked about the rocky state of Batista and LaGuerta's marriage, David Zayas hinted, "Some things work out, some things don't." Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), however, "is still in a relationship with Quinn" when the season begins, said Scott Buck, but he notes that her romance will not be a "primary storyline" this year: "We made a conscious decision to do something different with her."

The Kids Are Alright? We won't see much, if any, of Astrid and Cody this season. "They are still living with their grandparents," said MCH. "Dexter's relationship with his natural born son will remain the big focus of his life." That includes "expanding his home base": "It was tough living in a one-bedroom with a baby," he says, adding, "Batista's sister's helping him out too."  

Do you have "faith" in the new season's storyline? What did you think of the preview video?

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