Maybe the word “celebrate” isn’t entirely appropriate when you’re talking about the return of the second darkest series on television today (bumping right up against the also departing Breaking Bad), but it’s true: millions of fans are celebrating the return of Dexter at 9P Sunday night on Showtime.
Complex, intense, intriguing and more than a little just plain crazy, the story of Dexter Morgan, serial killer of serial killers, has taken viewers on a wonderfully bizarre, twisty-turny ride for seven years. This last season–as Dexter’s carefully constructed and increasingly convoluted secret life begins to collapse–promises to supply even more of the same dark delicacies we’ve enjoyed for so many years.
And it’s worth pointing just how strong Dexter’s commitment to Latino actors and storytelling has been over its entire seven-year existence. From it premiere in 2006, the drama–placed in a sleek and colorful TV version of Miami–has featured fascinating supporting characters and plot lines that embrace Latino lifestyles and issues, and given us powerful performances from truly amazing Latino actors, including but certainly not limited to Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, Edward James Olmos, and Aimee Garcia.
…this dark and dangerous program has been a home for some truly great Latino characters and performances for almost a decade.
Yes, Vélez’ Detective-turned-Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta is no longer with us, victim of a literally astonishing Season 7 finale when she was shot dead by Dexter’s sister, fellow cop Debra Morgan. But oh, what a performance she’s given over the years, as the manipulative, ambitious, intriguing and somehow still sympathetic Latina on the rise. Her tempestuous (to say the least) relationship–personal and professional–with Zayas’ Angel Batista not only gave us one of the most interesting couples on television, for many years it was the only realistic and adult portrayal of a Latino couple on TV, in an environment where blandness, stereotypes, and simple absence of Latino characterization was the order of the day. And their portrayals were only two of the best among many. Along the way, we’ve seen brilliant arcs from Edward James Olmos as a forbidding and powerful force in the inner life of tormented killer Colin Hanks, Jimmy Smits as the increasingly insane and ultimately homicidal politician, ADA Miguel Prado, Christian Camargo as the infamous Ice Truck Killer, Valerie Cruz and Jason Olazabel as Sylvia and Ramon Prado in the 2008 season, April L. Hernandez as Officer Ciara Manzon in 2010, and of course Aimee Garcia as the faithful but fierce caregiver (and sister to Angel) Jamie Batista, who’s become a regular cast member in the last couple of years, and will be back for Season 8. Add a long list of Latinos in single-episode appearances and multi-episode arcs along the way, like Jesse Borrego, and you’ll see an impressive commitment to Latino actors, their craft, and their stories–sometimes romantic, sometimes heroic, sometimes grotesque–that has remained consistent throughout the seven-year history of the show.
Notice, too, that in almost every case these talented Latinos are playing Latinos, unlike many other, far less challenging dramas also placed in Miami that consistently minimize or ignore Latino culture and character. And the writers and producers of Dexter have done this without political pressure or marketing strategy. It was just real, and good storytelling. And it’s often been done in near-secrecy. The performances of Zayas and Vélez, among so many others, should be at the top of every list of acting and writing awards even single year, and it’s been a major disappointment to see their work unacknowledged far too often over the years.
It’s an even bigger shame that Dexter itself–inevitably, of course–must end, but it’s well worth noting, as this final season begins, that this dark and dangerous program has been a home for some truly great Latino characters and performances for almost a decade. And though he’s as creepy as they come, there’s no doubt: Dexter–and Dexter–will be missed.
A record three million people watched the Season 7 premiere last year. Be one of the millions tonight at 9 to watch the eighth and final season begin at 9P on Showtime.
