Here's How Dexter: The New Blood Will Be Different From The Main Series

Contains spoilers for the Season 8 finale of "Dexter"

In 2013, fans anxiously tuned in to Showtime to see how the critically-acclaimed drama "Dexter" would end. Would the titular serial killer, played by Michael C. Hall, finally face long-term consequences for his crimes? Would Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) wake up from her coma and have an epic face-off with her one-time lover? While those questions received answers in the final episode, they weren't exactly to fans' likings. 

The consensus among viewers is that the Season 8 finale of "Dexter" was a major let-down. Dexter dumped Deb's comatose body into a nearby water source while abandoning his family so that he could live in isolation as a lumberjack. Audiences expected some surprises for the finale, but these decisions seemed to work against everything the show had set up in prior seasons. Fortunately, the creative team has a chance to rectify the show's legacy by bringing it back for an additional season.

Will these new episodes provide the send-off fans wanted out of the series all along? Only time will tell, but we know one thing will be drastically different this time around compared to how the show operated for its initial run.

A change in scenery ...

Michael C. Hall had the chance to chat with Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming "Dexter" episodes, which he says won't really be a ninth season. Instead, it's more of a check-up on where the characters ended up years after the proper series finale that aired back in 2013. It will technically be its own thing, which is why it's appropriate the future season won't look like any episode of "Dexter" we've seen before.

Hall explains, "The first thing I shot was literally on a frozen lake." It's a significant statement seeing how the previous eight seasons of "Dexter" occurred in Miami, Florida. Even though the team shot in Southern California, the episodes always included plenty of sun and sand. It sounds like Dexter's stayed up in the wilderness all these years later, but his past is about to catch up with him. 

The location isn't the only thing that's changed. While sunny Florida juxtaposed nicely with the darker tone of the series, the upcoming season brings a literal darkness to the proceedings. Hall goes on to say, "The tone of the show is quite different. Most of the building blocks that create a sense of the show's world have changed. The color palette of the show is different. Every piece of the landscape both externally and internally is altered."

The actor later mentions how it was an unconscious decision, but the landscape and change in scenery did alter the tone and vibe of the show as a whole. It sounds like the "Dexter" crew has something really special up their sleeves, so fans will wait anxiously to get the finale they wanted all those years ago.