TV Pick of the week: Dexter

Michael C. Hall says there's a bombshell ahead. Photo / Supplied

Life - and death, lots of it - goes on for Dexter Morgan, the serial killer who now has to balance his Miami police forensics job and life as a solo dad with his urge to kill murderers who would otherwise escape justice.

In the new sixth season, Dexter may have found God, which could play havoc with his "dark passenger", as he's named his compulsion. But as he searches for a deeper sense of meaning, he also starts investigating a case where religion is behind some very gruesome crimes.

The show's star, Michael C. Hall, explains further ...

Every season of Dexter seems to explore a different facet of the title character's personality. but spirituality seems like an unusual direction.

Yeah, they've taken him to places he's never imagined himself going. But even I never imagined him going to the place where he's being taken in the sixth season.

And you've got some strong acting talent in the form of Edward James Olmos, Colin Hanks and Mos Def.

It's amazing. Eddie, Colin, Mos - the fact we're able to attract people of that calibre to make this, to jump on to our moving train, is really pretty cool. There's nothing more thrilling at this point on the show.

Keeping twists and turns hush-hush is one of the secrets of your success, but can you offer any clues about the parts the other characters play in Dexter's development?

I think all the characters in one way or the other will serve to move him along his path, a path that characterises the season, examining his own relationship to spirituality.

And does Dexter start delving into this part of his personality?

It's his son. I think it's about taking responsibility for the fact that his son needs more than to be shielded from Dexter's dark passenger. There's awareness that his son may have an appetite for those things that Dexter at least doesn't consciously have, and that brings him to an appreciation that it's something he might want to explore.

Dexter's relationship with his sister Debra is an interesting one, but one can't help but think that a cop as sharp as she is will eventually get suspicious of her brother.

I don't know. I think it's beyond suspicion. I think there's some sort of unconscious knowing that will come into consciousness perhaps at some point. As for her reaction, I'm not going to speculate. The fun of that particular bombshell is what will happen and I don't want to limit it by speculating. If and when it happens, it will be a game-changer. I'll say that much.

Another intriguing relationship was the one Dexter shared with Julia Stiles' character Lumen last season. Is there any chance she'll return?

She is unique among characters in Dexter's world in that she's the only one who's found out the truth or at least part of the truth about him and has survived to know it. That prospect is compelling, as are many.

And the show itself? Have there been discussions about how much longer it could last?

Those conversations are happening but it's hard for me to think this will be our last season. Beyond that, it's hard to say.

When: Tuesdays, 8.30pm
Where: SoHo
What: The knives are out for a sixth season

- TimeOut/AAP