Backstage With… Michael C Hall on bringing Dexter back: ‘I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve missed him’
When Dexter ended after eight series in 2016 it suggested a new start for its protagonist – so perhaps it was always inevitable that the serial killer with a conscience would return to our screens one day.
Michael C Hall, who plays the killer, told Sky News’ Backstage podcast that it took the right opportunity for him to return to the beloved – if somewhat controversial – character.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’ve missed him, but I have periodically considered him and periodically considered him in part because the possibility of returning to the character and the show has been presented over the years,” he said.
The series picks up the serial killer’s story after five years off our screens. Pic: Sky UK
“I think now is the right time… with as much time having passed since we last saw Dexter, we’re afforded certain storytelling opportunities that we weren’t until now.
“So that was a big part of it and also just having had some time so that the revisitation of the character doesn’t feel fraught with the residue of whatever the old experience was, enough time has passed, enough experience has been had in my own life that there feels adequate distance between me and him, and now and then.”
That residue may in part be to do with the reaction to the final series, and episode, which wasn’t overwhelmingly positive.
But this new season sees the killer in a whole new place – both literally and metaphorically, as he’s now living in a small, snowy town in New York State and has settled in to a murder-free lifestyle.
Hall says returning to the part was like shrugging on an old jacket. “I remember how this fits and, oh yeah, like I never even noticed there was a pocket there,” he said.
“Like maybe, hopefully discovering new things that you hadn’t discovered and being reminded of things that you’d forgotten.
“But I did find that the character, you know, I spent a long time with him and considering him and playing him and living in that imaginative place, so there was a lot that was still very much there – just add water, you know?”
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With Dexter choosing his victims based on their failings, he could perhaps be interpreted as being the ultimate posterboy for cancel culture.
Hall says it’s not a comparison he’s drawn before.
“I mean, Dexter certainly isn’t choosing as his victims, nor did he ever choose people as his victims, people who 15 years ago said something unsavoury in passing.
“I think the people who fit the bill for him are maybe a little more deserving of cancellation, however you land on serial murder, which is another question entirely.
“I suppose he is cancelling or has cancelled a number of people, but I think his motivations are a bit a bit less motivated by any prevailing trends.”
It’s not just Hall returning for the new series, as Jennifer Carpenter is back as the killer’s sister – though this time in a more spiritual advisory role – and original showrunner Clyde Phillips and other behind-the-camera talent also on board.
Hall says getting the band back together certainly has its benefits.
“On the creative side, you know, as far as Clyde Phillips’ involvement and Scott Reynolds, who wrote throughout the course of the eight seasons and was back in this case, and Marcos Sieaga, who was our main director and sort of executive producing director, that just gave a sense of assurance that there was a collective sense of the fundamental DNA or connective tissue that we needed to maintain in spite of the fact that we were doing something very different and telling a different story, contextualised totally differently.”
Dexter: New Blood is coming to Sky Atlantic and NOW on 8 November – hear our review in the latest episode of Backstage, the film and TV podcast from Sky News
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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