According to the Dexter panel at Comic-Con.. there are 10 things you should know about the upcoming fifth season..

#1 – With no single enemy going to be able to top Trinity right away, there will be multiple “big bads” this season.

#2 – There will be no time jump. The premiere episode will not pick up months later, it will take place right where we left off at the end of last season. The reasoning is so that we can watch Dexter fully deal with the aftermath of Rita’s death AND give ourselves, the viewer, a chance to grieve for Rita as well.

#3 – It doesn;t seem like there will be any love interests for Deb this year. All she wants to do is rid herself of the “ghost” of Lundy.

#4 – Julie Benz will appear in one episode this season but will NOT be brought back as a Harry-style ghost.

#5 – Star Michael C. Hall is excited about this new season because it acts like a “new origin story for Dexter. Except this time Dexter’s got blood on his hands.”



#6 – A big part of this season will deal with how Rita’s untimely death affects Astor and Cody.

#7 – According to Hall, Dexter ain’t looking for love any time soon. “I don’t think Dexter is really looking to replace Rita or looking for someone to have a new intimate relationship with,” Hall explained. “I think, at least in his consciousness, that door is closed.”

#8 – No big specifics on who guest stars Julia Stiles or Jonny Lee Miller will be playing, but this does mark Stiles’ first foray into TV. Also, the cop that Peter Weller will be playing was originally named “Weller” so they had to change the name when he was cast. Stiles’ character also will also become “intimate” with Dexter and then, by accident(?), witness him doing a dark deed.

#9 – Dexter will explore serious guilt for the first time in his life, even if he’s not readily able to indentify it as such. “There’s an undeniable sense that Rita’s blood is on his hands,” Hall told the crowd in attendance. “When he says ‘It was me’ to Deb after the murder, he’s confessing to his part in having it happen. He’s motivated by a desire to make amends for that. Even if he doesn’t even know it at the beginning of the season. ”

#10 – Being a single father now Dexter will enlist the aid of a Nanny, and Deb herself to help care for his three children. They all move back into Dexter’s old apartment. And although Deb feels a connection to Dexter that she’s never felt before because both of them lost their loves last season, she discovers that they both grieve in different ways.