Photos: DEXTER: RESURRECTION & DEXTER 20th Anniversary Celebrated at PaleyFest NY

The Paley Center for Media continued its annual fall festival, PaleyFest NY, on Friday evening with a special 20th anniversary celebration of Dexter and the upcoming second season of Dexter: Resurrection. This year's festival also marked the inaugural PaleyFest Award, celebrating excellence in media, television, and entertainment, which is being presented to all participating shows.

The program featured a red carpet event, an exclusive advance screening of the Dexter: Resurrection Season 2 premiere, and a post-screening conversation with members of the cast and creative team, moderated by Rosy Cordero (Associate TV Editor, Deadline). The red carpet was attended by Michael C. Hall ('Dexter Morgan,' Executive Producer), Uma Thurman ('Charley Brown'), James Remar ('Harry Morgan'), Jack Alcott ('Harrison Morgan'), Bokeem Woodbine ('Captain Mixon'), Kadia Saraf ('Detective Claudette Wallace'), Clyde Phillips (Showrunner and Executive Producer), Scott Reynolds (Executive Producer), and Marcos Siega (Executive Producer).

Fans of the Dexter franchise gathered at the sold-out Bennack Theater for a memorable evening made possible by Citi. The panelists took part in an engaging conversation reflecting on the series' legacy and sharing insights into the latest chapter of the second season of Dexter: Resurrection.

While reminiscing on the history of the show, Hall expressed his surprise at the longevity of the series. 'Twenty years later it's mind blowing,' said Hall. 'I had no anticipation it would be as broadly appealing.'

'It's complex but it's believable,' Remar stated as he looked back on the experiences the characters go through. 'There's a reason why we're sitting here so fully engaged with these characters.' While discussing how they craft the stories for each season, Phillips revealed that 'we paint ourselves into a corner on purpose,' because 'it's about keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.' The panel agreed in this assessment, with Woodbine recognizing that 'what appeals to people is the level of intelligence of the script.'

Reynolds pointed out that 'every season is about this very relatable thing that we all go through,' prompting Phillips to mention the focus of this season being on the father and son dynamic. For his character, Alcott believes that Harrison has 'got a propensity for violence… he's nowhere near his father, but there's something there.' Woodbine related to this feeling, confessing that there was 'a darkness to [Captain Mixon]' but that he hadn't 'really figured out what that is.'

In teasing the upcoming second season of Dexter: Resurrection, Saraf shared that 'the stakes are so much higher' and that the season will be 'very very compelling and endearing to watch.' Thurman added that for her character, 'Charley is burned by having a conscience and she's made compromises that she thought she could square away.' Like many of the characters on the show, Thurman noted that, 'she's exciting, she's morally ambiguous.' Hall also teased that 'when we meet [Dexter] in the first season of Resurrection we see him recommitted to the code,' but that ultimately 'that doesn't prove to be enough.'

On the show being set in New York City, Siega shared that 'we wanted to embrace the look of the city,' noting there was no 'better place to shoot.' Moderator Cordero congratulated the team on Resurrection, jokingly saying 'I'm sorry for the pun but, you've killed it.'

Photo Credit: The Paley Museum