No Jump Forward For Dexter's Fifth Season

Spoiler Warning: There’s been some news about next season of Dexter posted, however since I know there are some people out there who still haven’t gotten caught up on the Showtime series or caught the amazing fourth season finale, I’m posting this spoiler warning. If you’re caught up on the show, it’s safe to read on!

TV Guide posted some updates on the status of Michael C. Hall’s cancer situation, quoting Hall as saying he’ll have his final cancer treatment later this month but that he’s “totally fine.” That’s great news!

For those of you (and I’ll include myself in this block of speculators) who thought there was a good chance that the writers of Dexter might jump the show forward a few years or more after last season’s finale left Dexter’s wife Rita dead in a bathtub (seriously, not since season 1 of 24 has there ever been a more chilling “Oh, and by the way, your wife is dead” moment to close as season out), from the sounds of it, when Dexter picks up again, it’ll be around the same time-period where last season left off.

"The death of Rita is something that we feel is so awesome that needs to be honored," executive producer Sara Colleton said Thursday at a Paley Festival panel about the show. "The process by which Dexter deals with it will allow the audience their own carthorses. We're not going to jump ahead, we're going to actually process it."

Hall talks a bit about the character’s reaction to Rita’s death, including how people are going to treat him after the violent death of his wife. It also looks like Dexter might be taking some of the blame. Could he be a suspect for the murder?

"He's in hot water to a degree," Hall said. "I think there's a way out of it, but that's what we'd like to see, for him to figure his way out. His capacity for stress management broadens his capacity for straight-up killing."

There was also a mention about Dexter and Rita’s baby, Harrison, who was found sitting in a pool of his mother’s blood, much like Dexter was found when he was a baby. Will the story come full circle as Dexter’s son inherits his father’s thirst for blood? Well, with no jump forward (yet, anyway), it seems unlikely that we’ll get to see that however the issue will be explored, according to what Colleton said.

Given that Rita’s death was a huge deal, I think it’s fitting that we get to see the aftermath of it as it pertains to Dexter and the rest of his family. As eager as I am to see the full extent of how Rita’s murder affects Harrison (will he be another version of Dexter?), I can understand the writer’s decision to stay the course and let the drama following Rita’s death play out in the shows regular format (as opposed to flashbacks or references in a jump-forward setting).