Julie Benz Returns to Dexter After 17 Years

Julie Benz, who played Rita Bennett on Dexter, has returned to the franchise 17 years after her character's death for an episode of the companion web

Julie Benz, the actor who portrayed Rita Bennett on the television series Dexter, has returned to the franchise 17 years after her character's killed off. She appears in the fourth episode of the third season of the official companion web series, Dexter's Kill Room, which returned in early August.

Benz reunited with fellow original cast member Erik King, who played James Doakes, on the web series. The pair sat together to reflect on their roles in the long-running psychological thriller.

Benz on Rita's Character

During the conversation, Benz described her character, Rita, as being like a damaged bird. "She had this little damaged wing, but she would still keep trying to fly," the actress explained. She stated that she loved the season 1 version of Rita the best, reiterating the damaged bird analogy.

Benz also claimed she knew Dexter would be a hit from the start. She recounted going to dinner with co-star Michael C. Hall during the pilot filming and telling him the show would not only get a full season order but would "run for years." She thought this because the show "lives in this gray moral zone" and "makes you really think."

Recalling Rita's Death Scene

The discussion turned to Rita's death, which occurred in season 4 at the hands of the Trinity Killer, Arthur Mitchell. Benz admitted she has never watched that scene.

She found the experience hard to film, having learned of her character's fate only a couple of days before shooting. "I was devastated," she said. Her then-boyfriend, now husband, threw a party in her trailer to help her "approach it as a celebration and not as an ending." Benz said she had done a couple of tequila shots and that the crew only found out it was her final scene when they went to set up for it.

She described her husband decorating her trailer with tombstones, as it was around Halloween, and trying to make the situation fun for the saddened crew.

Franchise Context and Future

While Benz never returned to the main Dexter series or its spinoffs, Erik King did make a guest appearance in Dexter: Resurrection season 1, which aired in 2025. Other spinoffs over the years include New Blood and Original Sin.

The source notes that Dexter's Kill Room has brought back several former cast members this season, including Krysten Ritter, Eric Stonestreet, and C.S. Lee. New episodes are released on the Dexter YouTube channel every Thursday at 12 p.m. EDT. Dexter: Resurrection season 2 will premiere this fall on Paramount+ Premium and Showtime.

After leaving Dexter, Benz appeared on shows like Desperate Housewives and 9-1-1: Lone Star, and starred in the film The Midway Point.

Source: Screen Rant