On Thursday, Showtime dropped its first look at Michael C. Hall’s (Six Feet Under) return to the role of serial killer with a code, Dexter Morgan. Though Thursday’s teaser trailer was brief – thirty seconds to be exact – it hinted at redemption for Dexter’s critically-panned and fan-reviled season eight finale from in 2013.

He’s just a soul whose intentions are good.

See what #Dexter has been up to when he comes home to SHOWTIME this Fall. pic.twitter.com/Bh8UC83qn0

— SHOWTIME (@Showtime) April 29, 2021

The original series, which saw Hall rack up five Emmy nominations, focused on blood splatter expert turned sociopathic vigilante killer, Dexter Morgan, as he balanced his lives on opposing sides of the law. A ten-part ninth season reboot of the series was announced by Showtime back in October, with Nerdist commenting that “this limited-run could be a way to save the legacy of the show.”

Throughout their assessment of Dexter’s first teaser trailer, Nerdist had nothing but disparaging words for Dexter’s original series finale, one that disappointed the show’s avid fanbase and Hall himself admitted to having never watched. However disliked, the established ending of the series, which saw Dexter Morgan murder his sister, faking his death and retiring to a quaint lumberjack life in Oregon, could not be ignored in crafting a continuation of the story.

Dexter’s season nine teaser attempted to sway fans back into the fold, by indicating that the fan-favorite killer would soon be out of the woods in more ways than one. Thursday’s teaser was entitled “Misunderstood” and aptly featured Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” which TVLine considered a self-aware attempt to poke fun at “Dexter’s last known addresses in the middle of nowhere.” The camera panned to show a cleanly-shaven Dexter Morgan surveying a campfire in the yard of his vast and wooded Oregonian hideaway, before turning to the camera and donning a familiar, knowing grin.

This makes us feel so alive. #Dexter https://t.co/em3ICy4zHV

— Dexter on Showtime (@SHO_Dexter) April 29, 2021

“While the show’s first teaser doesn’t ignore how the original series ended,” Nerdist surmised of the trailer “it hints at a clean (shaven) new start.” Previous casting announcements have confirmed that new players – including Julia Jones (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Wind River), Alano Miller (Underground, Jane the Virgin), Johnny Sequoya (Believe), Jack Alcott (The Good Lord Bird) and Katy Sullivan (Saint Bernard) – will contribute to Dexter’s attempt at a redemptive ninth season, with Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, SpongeBob SquarePants) booked as the continuation’s villain. According to Entertainment Weekly, many long-time fans of Dexter in it’s heyday have sought comfort in the fact the Clyde Phillips (Dexter, Nurse Jackie) has returned to season nine as showrunner, despite the fact that no original cast, aside from Hall, have been confirmed yet.

For those hoping for a return-to-form from Dexter‘s ninth season, Thursday’s trailer gave a promising grin that ensured “Dexter’s ready to get back to his old ways” (Polygon). The teaser also confirmed that season nine will be arriving on Showtime this fall, meaning that Dexter fans should dust off their tarps, because Dexter Morgan will be back to his murderous ways before the year’s out.

We *know* Dexter is on your #2021Watchlist…let’s just hope you’re not on his 🔪 pic.twitter.com/dqdv0UtKAm

— Dexter on Showtime (@SHO_Dexter) December 30, 2020