Teaser: 'Dexter', season 6; Hell Breaks Loose

Showtime have released a brief teaser for the sixth season of Dexter (see above.) There's no new footage, just a recap of the various foes Dexter Morgan has taken on over the years. Noticeably, the teaser ignores anything that happened in season 5. Make of that what you will...

The season's tagline is "Hell Breaks Loose" and audio of Debra Morgan screaming is used to insinuate she learns the shocking truth about her brother this year. I hope this is true and not a cynical marketing trick, as there's increasingly very little about Dexter that's capturing my imagination these days. As I keep saying, Showtime need to find themselves another hit and allow Dexter to retire with a two-season plan that brings everything to a satisfying conclusion. That's the only way to re-energize the show enough to keep everyday fans passionate, as I fear a major backlash if the writers are forced to keep the wheels spinning because Showtime have set their sights on a season 7, 8, 9 and beyond...

Season 6 has a new showrunner in veteran Dexter scribe Scott Buck, with Showtime president David Nevins offering these words on the season from the 4th Annual TV Academy Honors in Beverly Hills:

"Dexter this season will be in some ways a return to the Dexter that you've seen in the early seasons. There's a really interesting story and journey that he's going to be on this year. There’s going to be some degree of getting back to his roots."

"There will be a microscope on the Deb/Dexter relationship this season. Over time you’re going to see that relationship evolve and change, no questions about it.

"[The season's villain] is not one big bad. There's one interesting story that will move through the season, and it will be cast very interestingly, but it's not exactly that one person."

It's also known that the production's looking for three new characters: Jamie, an outgoing Latina grad school student in her mid-20s; Mike, an African-American detective from Chicago who doesn't get on with Dexter (ahem, Sgt Doakes is back?); and Louis, a lab intern friend of Masuka's. Update: it's been announced that Colin Hanks has joined the show on a recurring basis. Could be be playing Masuka's pal?

What do you make of these teases? Is Dexter still a show that excites you, or do you think the premise is just not elastic enough to continue for much longer?

Dexter will return to Showtime this autumn, most likely late-September.