Showtime recently announced that talks about a Dexter spin-off series surrounding the life of Deb are in the works. Although Dexter clearly provides the motivation for the show, there are moments in the show in which Deb’s struggles overshadow the internal conflict of her brother. Season 7 especially highlighted Deb’s moral ambivalence about learning the truth about her homicidal brother.
In the show’s beginning, Debra usually contrasted Dexter’s lack of humanity by demonstrating a passion for justice. Her role paralleled Dexter’s and at most points during the show, the two often searched for the same serial killer (although Dexter’s intentions stemmed more from his desire to satiate his Dark Passenger).
Deb’s history is a long and complicated affair beginning with the insecurities she felt while watching her father spend more of his time and attention with her foster brother, Dexter. In the first season alone, her fiancé turns out not to be a prosthetics doctor, but instead Dexter’s biological, serial killer brother, who presented Deb on a slab for Dexter to kill. Among the other tragedies that Deb undergoes (including watching the love of her life, Special Agent Frank Lundy, die right in front of her), she spent the majority of last season coping with the fact that the brother she loved and trusted was actually a serial killer.
Deb has evolved into an emotionally rich and complex character especially in the past few seasons. I am excited for the spin-off (if it should actually make it to production), and would love to see a show focused primarily on Deb. Though executives have not released many details about the project, I’m sure that there will obviously be a lot of cursing involved.
In anticipation of the possibility of a Deb spin-off, here are just a few of my favorite quotes from Debra Morgan.