Dexter's Return Makes A Lost Revival More Likely

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Dexter's Return Makes A Lost Revival More Likely

Showtime is reviving Dexter for a ninth season after its disappointing finale, and the announcement opens the door for the revival of another controversial series: Lost. Dexter was one of Showtime's most successful series of all time, and followed the blood spatter analyst and serial killer Dexter (Michael C. Hall) as he hunted down killers that had managed to evade the criminal justice system. Dexter's finale is considered one of the worst TV show endings of all time, and concluded with Dexter moving to Oregon and becoming a lumberjack.

Dexter's revival would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, but now that Showtime has announced Dexter is returning, it makes it even likelier that another beloved show with a controversial ending could return as well. Lost was created by J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen), and Jeffrey Lieber and ended in 2010 with a divisive series finale. Lost is credited with ushering in an era of high-concept, big-budget television as it followed the survivors of an airplane crash trying to survive on a mysterious island. Lost introduced elements of science-fiction and supernatural phenomena, setting up mysteries that were never completely solved.

The finale of Lost is almost universally hated, but Dexter's revival and its opportunity to retroactively fix its finale makes it more likely that Lost can do the same. Lost introduced increasingly convoluted puzzles and a massive amount of mythology that never went anywhere. A Lost revival might finally provide answers that longtime fans of the show have been waiting for, and the rich lore in Lost makes the show perfect for a revival. Like Dexter - and Twin Peaks, which had a critically-acclaimed revival in 2017 - Lost was a series that was before its time, and it finally has the opportunity for a satisfying ending. It would be in keeping with a wider trend of recent TV revivals that also includes Gilmore Girls, The X-Files, Veronica Mars and Heroes Reborn.

Rumors of a Lost finale have been swirling for years. Damon Lindelof told EW in 2017 that a future reboot of the show should center around new characters and explore new stories on the titular island, a sentiment that Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse shares. In an interview with THR, Cuse said, "I would be fine if ABC hired somebody who had a good idea involving other characters that go to the island." Even if a Lost revival introduced a new set of characters, it would be a great opportunity for the beloved show to revisit and explore its mythology even further.

The idea of bringing back Dexter and Lost would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but now that Dexter is being revived to fix its much maligned finale, why can't Lost do the same? Lost built itself an enormous puzzle box full of elaborate mysteries that were never satisfyingly solved, and the beloved mythology of the series makes it a perfect project for ABC to revisit. If Showtime has the opportunity to revive a fan-favorite show rich in mythology with a famously terrible finale such as Dexter, then a Lost revival just became a lot more likely.