Clyde Phillips recently reflected on Dexter: New Blood, revealing the one aspect of the miniseries he wishes had turned out differently.
It was seven years after the original 2013 finale when Showtime announced that Dexter would return for another season. The network also brought back Clyde Phillips, the showrunner behind some of the original series' most praised seasons, to lead the revival.
That revival, Dexter: New Blood, was marketed as a chance to correct the mistakes of the infamous "lumberjack finale." While the miniseries was definitely a ratings success, its ending once again left fans divided.
Now, with Dexter: Resurrection changing the direction of the franchise, both fans and members of the creative team continue to look back on Dexter: New Blood. That was the case recently when Clyde Phillips sat down with IndieWire to discuss what he believes the series got wrong, along with the lessons learned from it.
Phillips acknowledged that not every creative risk resonates with every viewer. Looking back, he admitted that the creative team underestimated how much fans wanted to see Dexter doing what made the character so compelling in the first place.
He explained that Dexter's long abstinence period created some distance between the audience and the story. According to Phillips, people tune into a show about a serial killer played by Michael C. Hall expecting to see him kill. While he actually acknowledged that many fans loved Dexter: New Blood, he said the team learned an important lesson from that creative decision.
Interestingly, Phillips did not point to Harrison's storyline or the controversial finale as the show's biggest mistake. Instead, he suggested that the lack of focus on Dexter's killing activities was the main issue.
Phillips also spoke about the ongoing challenge of keeping the... Dexterverse fresh after two decades. For him, pushing himself and the writers to constatnly improve is both a responsibility and one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.
He explained that if he could write two words on the wall of the writers' room, they would be "Do better." Phillips actually recalled a recent conversation with a famous playwright who lives in his building. When asked whether he ever gets tired of working on television after so many years, Phillips said he doesn't. He described himself as the luckiest guy in the world because he gets to do what he loves for a living.
As Dexter's story continues in a new direction, Phillips' comments definitely give an interesting look at how the creative team has reflected on Dexter: New Blood and the lessons that may shape the future of Dexter: Resurrection.