This character is set to take on a more powerful role in the upcoming season.
The second season of Dexter: Resurrection has already been in production for several weeks now, and it looks like a few returning main characters are going through some major changes. While many fans already know about what’s happening with Harrison in Season 2, there’s at least one more character getting a pretty significant upgrade.
That character is none other than Melvin Oliva, played by Dominic Fumusa.
Oliva was one of the brand-new supporting characters introduced as a series regular in Season 1. Even though he never directly interacted on screen with Dexter Morgan himself, he still played an important role throughout the season as part of the NYPD’s 22nd Precinct, working alongside his partner Claudette Wallace, who actually became one of the most discussed new additions to the series.
But... what exactly is changing for Melvin Oliva in Dexter: Resurrection Season 2?
Well, it appears Oliva is no longer a detective with the NYPD. Instead, he’s been promoted to Sergeant, which is the first supervisory rank above Detective.
The reveal came through a behind-the-scenes photo shared on Instagram by Fumusa himself. The image shows the actor between takes, confidently posing inside his new office set at the precinct. As seen in the photo below, the gold lettering on the office door clearly identifies him as “Sergeant,” actually confirming the character’s promotion.
Of course, this reveal raises a few questions.
The biggest one is whether Oliva’s promotion is connected to the breakthrough in the Leon Prater case during the final moments in the Season 1 finale, where the billionaire philanthropist was exposed as a serial killer supporter and allegedly responsible for the death of Angel Batista.
If the promotion is not tied to that case, then it could instead be linked to the major time jump that’s reportedly happening in Season 2, suggesting enough time has passed for Oliva to move up the ranks.
Another interesting question is whether Claudette Wallace will also become a Sergeant. In Season 1, both Wallace and Oliva held the same rank within the NYPD, and Wallace, although younger, actually proved herself to be the more competent investigator of the two. But there may already be a clue about her status in the upcoming season.
A recent set photo by Jose Perez featuring Kadia Saraf as Claudette Wallace alongside Dominic Fumusa as Melvin Oliva in downtown Manhattan included a small detail that is easy to miss unless you zoom in closely.
Wallace appeared to still be wearing a detective badge, which based on a research we did, has a noticeably different shape compared to a Sergeant’s badge. Of course, it’s still possible that promotions for both characters happen later in the season rather than right at the very beginning (which is when this set photo was taken), but for now, it seems Oliva may be the only one receiving this powerful upgrade.
If that ends up being the case, it could actually create an interesting side storyline in Season 2, especially with the stubborn and outspoken Claudette Wallace potentially frustrated that Oliva got the promotion instead of her.