As a 'Dexter' revival is announced, here are the other TV shows we'd like to come back

The TV show about a righteous serial killer is getting a second chance on screen

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  'This Way Up'. IMDb

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  'The Three Musketeers'. IMDb

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  'Freaks and Geeks'. IMDb

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  'The Night Of'. IMDb

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  'Fleabag'. IMDb

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  'Lost'. IMDb

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  'Friends'. IMDb

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  'Gilmore Girls'. IMDb

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  'How I Met Your Mother'. IMDb

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  'The Young Ones'. IMDb

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  'Arrested Development'. IMDb

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  'Fawlty Towers'. IMDb

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  'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' IMDb

Dexter is set to return to our televisions after an eight-year break.

The series, centred around a murderous protagonist, ended in 2013 after eight seasons. At the time, fans were disappointed with its ending, with many feeling like the neat finish did not do the popular series justice.

However, wrongs could well be set right with a revival.

Michael C Hall played serial killer Dexter in the popular show of the same name. IMDb

The show is set to start filming later this year and it is expected to be released in late 2021.

Gary Levine, president of entertainment at Showtime, said in a statement: "We would only revisit this unique character if we could find a creative take that was truly worthy of the brilliant, original series. Well, I am happy to report that [executive producer] Clyde Phillips and Michael C Hall have found it."

Hall plays the show's title character. The eighth series ended with Dexter calling time on his killing sprees, and retiring to a quiet life as a lumberjack. No plot points for the upcoming ninth series have been confirmed.

As 'Dexter' gets a second chance on screen, here we have rounded up the TV series we would like to see revived: 

1. 'Fleabag'

'Fleabag'. IMDb

Living in a world where just two seasons of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s deliciously dark comedy-drama exists feels borderline cruel. The end of the last episode, where the titular character acknowledges the fourth wall, felt poignantly final and one could argue such perfection should be left to rest. But who wouldn’t want to see the quick-witted character back on TV screens, and hopefully reunited with Andrew Scott’s brilliantly conflicted priest? It’s the content we so deserve after the hand that 2020 has dealt us.

Emma Day, Deputy Features Editor

2. 'This Way Up'

'This Way Up'. IMDb

This probably wouldn't 100 per cent be considered a revival just yet, but please consider this my campaign for a second season of Aisling Bea's comedy series. This Way Up is achingly funny, touching and infinitely bingeable. Detailing the lives of two Irish sisters living in London, it toes the line between relatable and absolutely outrageous perfectly. It feels likely that the show will be picked up for another series as co-star Sharon Horgan did hint that there would be one earlier this year, but so far there is no official word.

Farah Andrews, Assistant Features Editor 

3. 'Lost' 

'Lost'. IMDb

The one TV show I would love (actually that we all deserve) to come back is Lost. Unlike the ending of Game of Thrones, which was average, Lost really did take the cake in terms of worst endings ever. The producers should offer us a revival in the form of an alternate final season rather than the lame one they gave us back in 2010. We invested so much time and dedication to those characters, the least they can do is stop the meh feeling after so many years.

Jason Von Berg, Head of Audience

4. 'How I Met Your Mother'

'How I Met Your Mother'. IMDb

How I Met Your Mother had one of the most universally despised finales. However, I do believe the show could make up for it if it were brought back. I'd like to see a follow-up with Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily and Barney to see what's happened in their lives since. After all, we all made it through those nine seasons for that ending, is that really the best way for the show to be remembered?

Evelyn Lau, Assistant Features Editor 

5. 'Fawlty Towers'

'Fawlty Towers'. IMDb

It's hard to believe there were only ever 12 episodes made of this classic British comedy. But then again, Brits always know when to bow out gracefully (when it comes to TV series). That's why our original (and best) version of The Office only ran for two series, while the US version ran for approximately 1,765. I'd retain the Torquay setting, and keep the hotel suitably down-at-heel. But I'd have the owners struggling to keep up with the demands of modern vacationers and their gluten-free, Wi-Fi-dependent, matcha tea-quaffing requirements. Much like Basil did, really.

Gemma White, Acting Lifestyle and Weekend Editor 

6. 'Arrested Development' 

'Arrested Development'. IMDb

If we ignore seasons four and five and pick up where Arrested Development left off with season three in 2006, it is a show I want to be revived. The comedy series about the most dysfunctional of families had the art of the niche, recurring joke honed perfectly, and I could watch those first three series over and over again, never getting bored.

Farah Andrews, Assistant Features Editor 

7. 'The Night Of' 

'The Night Of'. IMDb

The HBO miniseries was designed as a one-off drama, based on the first season of UK show Criminal Justice. However, Riz Ahmed's performance as a man on trial for murder, and John Turturro's turn as the lawyer tasked with helping him prove his innocence, made this some of the most compelling viewing of 2016. While it certainly works as a standalone, there are loose ends that could be tied up in a second season – and Turturro could certainly hold up a spin-off in the vein of Better Call Saul.

Emma Day, Deputy Features Editor

8. 'The Young Ones'

'The Young Ones'. IMDb

The 1980s British comedy in which four university students – anarchist Rik, Mike the 'cool person’, Vivian the punk and the hippy Neil – all lived together while avoiding attending lessons at all costs, is long overdue a do-over. While those four had to deal with having no money or agency in Thatcher’s Britain, the four modern housemates would be dealing with not getting enough likes on their latest Instagram post and the local Waitrose running out of dairy-free yoghurts. And although Rik et al were most likely to come home to find a band playing in their front room – and the original series featured appearances by the likes of Madness and Motorhead – their 2020s counterparts would be more likely to encounter their housemate’s TikTok-famous girlfriend running a multi-vertical-integrated dating app seminar live on Zoom from the kitchen table.

Gemma White, Acting Lifestyle and Weekend Editor 

9. 'Freaks and Geeks'

'Freaks and Geeks'. IMDb

This comedy-drama, set in a US high school, was one of those classic teen tales rooted around what it means to be an outsider. The Judd Apatow-produced show helped launch the careers of some of Hollywood’s most famous faces, from Seth Rogen and Jason Segel to James Franco and Linda Cardellini. While we’ve certainly not been short of high-school-centred TV hits since then, this gem broadcast just 18 episodes, meaning we’ve had 20 years of wondering what happened to Lindsay, Ken, Daniel and co.

Emma Day, Deputy Features Editor

10. 'Gilmore Girls' 

'Gilmore Girls'. IMDb

I feel both great pride and shame when I admit that Gilmore Girls is one of my favourite shows. It's basically the television form of a pumpkin spice latte, so for a lazy afternoon spent half-watching TV while I scroll though my phone and should be doing my laundry or cleaning my kitchen, it's ideal. I love the dynamic between Lorelai and Rory, and the four-part Netflix reboot of 2016 did not satiate my appetite for this warm hug of a show.

Farah Andrews, Assistant Features Editor 

11. 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?'

'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' IMDb

Are You Afraid of the Dark? was one of my favourite Nickelodeon shows when I was a child. It was scary enough to spook me but some stories were also quite good. The show follows a group of teens who tell scary stories by a campfire and call themselves The Midnight Society. Even though the show had a small revival as a miniseries in 2019, it'd be great to watch it again as a full series with new scary stories told in this day and age.

Evelyn Lau, Assistant Features Editor 

12. 'Friends' 

'Friends'. IMDb

While many people would argue that towards the end of Friends' 10 seasons, things were starting to head south thanks to a few outlandish storylines (cough, Rachel and Joey, cough), it doesn't stop people forever praying for a reunion. More than anything, after investing a decade of my life into those six characters, I want to know, in the words of Joey, how they are doing. How is Chandler coping being the dad of twins? What outlandish names did Phoebe and Mike give to their children? Did Joey finally find a woman to make him settle down? Perhaps those questions are better left unanswered, but we will always wonder.

Sophie Prideaux, Assistant Features Editor 

13. 'The Three Musketeers'

'The Three Musketeers'. IMDb

As the world's biggest Dumas fan (yes, I am taking that title), I would love to see a modern remake of The Three Musketeers, which takes the boys out of 1600s Paris and into 2020s London. The remake would be the perfect chance to examine modern masculinity and brotherhood in the wake of #MeToo and fourth-wave feminism. It could also act as a guide to modern manhood, whose parameters were ultimately reset by Paul Mescal's portrayal of the consent-aware Connell Walwood in the award-winning Normal People.

Gemma White, Acting Lifestyle and Weekend Editor