By Elaine Bergstrom
A great series attracts great guest stars who get plenty of Emmy buzz. Possibly hoping to emulate John Lithgow — whose chilling portrayal of a serial killer last season earned him an Emmy nod along with star Michael C. Hall — Peter Weller joins the cast for Dexter’s fifth season. Weller, best known for starring in Robocop, will play a more ordinary police officer caught up in an internal affairs investigation at Miami Metro.
No word on his relationship to Dexter, who will be seen going through the grieving process following the horrific murder of his wife by Trinity in last season’s finale. Julie Benz, who played Mrs. Dex, will return in the season premiere, presumably as a soothing memory — and fans know how vivid Dexter’s memories can be — to help him deal with the emotions he feels following her murder. Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone) and Julia Stiles (the Bourne films) will also guest star this season and Maria Doyle Kennedy, best known for her role as Henry VIII’s long-suffering first wife in The Tudors, will play the nanny taking care of Dexter’s children.
There have also been some strange spoiler videos surfacing that show Dexter having a nervous breakdown in the new season and taking a walk on his gayer clubbing side, but don’t believe it. It’s apparently a scene lifted from his earlier work on Six Feet Under.
