Julie Benz has bounced back from her shocking Dexter departure with a major role on Desperate Housewives.
Sources confirm to me exclusively that Benz — whose character, Rita, succumbed to the most horrific bubble bath in television history in last month’s Dexter finale — has been cast in the recurring role of Debbie, a stripper with a heart of gold and a Masters degree in education. When Susan offers her the chance to transition into a more legitimate career, Deb jumps at it.
Benz is booked for at least three episodes, the first of which is scheduled to air in February.
Thoughts? Happy Benz’ career didn’t die along with Rita? Think she’ll fit in on Wisteria Lane? Sound off below!
PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage
WOOT WOOT WOOT!
I can’t wait to see her on DH!
Ausiello, thanks a lot for the spoiler alert. For those of us that enjoy Dexter but don’t have Showtime, season four in its entirety has been ruined for me. Ugh.
For all of you Dexter fans that think the season is suined because of this one thing, you don’t know the writers very well. There are so many plot twists in season 4 that season 5 is going to rock!
Seriously! a spoiler alert would have been nice.Season 4 is ruined for me now.
Come on!! Not only is it a spoiler, but now I don’t even need to read your witty comments in the article after that headline – I think you meant to write: Exclusive: ‘Desperate Housewives’ revives ‘Dexter’ casualty[PERIOD!]
Get over it……..the season is awesome and the spoiler still does not ruin the show. I read the spoiler on Yahoo news and the season was still amazing !!!! View on !!!
She should do great on the show
yeah that sux..I avoid all Dexter posts and now this..I’m pissed
It is a given that spoilers are revealed here, this certainly is not the place for you if you want to be surprised.
Yes… while I certainly consider this a high-class problem, it would seriously piss me off if I had not already seen Dexter season 4. This is a phenomenon that people just don’t seem to get these days. Almost EVERYONE time shifts. Please don’t reveal key plot twists in the headline of an article. And please at a minimum put some disclaimer at the beginning of your article about the spoilers contained. Ugh! This seriously pisses me off and I already watched season 4..
I only occasionally get to watch dexter so trust me that you still need to see at least the last two eps of it – even knowing what happens doesn’t spoil how well it was done…
I agree!! I’m only in the midst of Season 2 on Bravo in Canada!
Austin..so I shouldn’t go on ew.com at all..that makes little sense if any..they just shouldn’t put it in the headline
Um… I don’t watch Dexter and still know the season ended. For those of you who watch but did not know, I admire your media black out skills.
I know!! She fits right in! I love it! I’m just trying to figure out how Susan meets a stripper??
She plays Robin Gallagher, not Debbie on Desperate Housewifes, get it right !
Hmmm, I love Julie Benz. I don’t watch DH, but maybe I’ll have to record it and watch just her scenes.
My thoughts exactly.
Julie Benz as a stripper with a heart of gold? I’m getting the singles out.
I’m happy to see Julie but I’m still mourning the loss of Rita. Too soon Ausiello…way too soon.
Ausiello doesn’t decide the contracts he just reports and his job is to report as early as possible.
I believe the “too soon” was a reference to the bubble bath rather than the DH casting…
Ugh, dammit, Ausiello! Dexter isn’t on iTunes yet! I’ve been successfully dodging season 4 finale spoilers for weeks and then, boom, futile with that headline. I guess I was asking for it by not purchasing Showtime, though, right?
NO. Digital cable plus premium channels is a RIP OFF! Even if I could afford to pay for it, I wouldn’t. Assiello just blows, and EW sucks fat ones for putting it on the window.
yay!!
I’m glad she landed another job, unfortunate about it being THIS show
My thoughts exactly.
yeah, that’s what I thought, too. She’s better than that crap.
AWESOME! I’m so glad that she’s already found another job
Me too! I love DH and cannot wait to see her in a different character other than Rita.
Love Julie Benz but cant stomach Desperate Housewives any longer.
Horrible.
Glad to see her, although I’m more of a Darla fan then Rita!
Me too.
Agreed. I think she’s too good for DH. I will always see her as Darla. Evil but kind of righteous in a self serving way.
Since the 90s she’s pretty much been that face you recognized probably didn’t become a big name until her role as Darla and of course now as the sweet now dead Rita. I am behind on Dexter with no Showtime anymore but let me know, did she find out about Dex, I hope not, it will be a lot better if she didn’t. Great for Julie, I may watch DH again when she joins the cast.
Rita doesn’t find out about Dexter.
Me too!
Who’s Susan?
Clearly you don’t watch DH.
Terri Hatcher’s character.
Wow, thanks EW for completely spoiling Dexter for me. I was really looking forward to watching Season 4 too…
You can’t possibly expect them to keep things a secret forever, can you? If you don’t want things spoiled, watch things in a more timely fashion. Seriously.
The point is you don’t put spoilers in the title of an article. Give people a choice to not read it.
Yep, spoiled it for me too. In a headline…really?
It’s been ages since that episode came out. Give EW a break
Dexter isn’t on iTunes yet…those of us without Showtime never even had a chance.
Even if it’s not in the title, isn’t the news that Julie Benz is working on shows other than Dexter going to signal that she left? You’d basically have to ask entertainment reporters to stop reporting casting news in order to stay unspoiled. And THAT ain’t gonna happen.
No. I will not give them a break. They put it on the f’n rotating window of “news.” If it was even just an Aushole report I would have managed to avoid it. EW totally sucks fat ones for this.
my thoughts exactly!! i’ve been staying away from dexter spoilers like the plague because i haven’t had time to finish the season yet. now it’s completely ruined thanks to this freaking HEADLINE! thanks alot. bad form ausiello
especially for us poor folk who don’t have cable and have to netflix the dvds!
I’m sorry, but are you serious?!? EW is an entertainment news magazine/website; Ausiello’s fricken JOB is to dig up and report spoilers!! WTF are you even doing here if you don’t want to risk reading spoilers?? Not to mention, depsite the fact that not everyone has cable/lives in the US, once the episode has aired it’s fair game to talk about it. Unfortunately, you just need to be more careful where you tread online.
@Cherry – You know, not everybody can afford cable, which means they have to wait for a show to come out on DVD. Usually EW (and Ausiello) is pretty good about keeping spoilers out of the title. I, for one, wasn’t going out looking for a Dexter spoiler. I check EW all the time, and this is the first time I’ve ever actually been spoiled in the title. And yeah, I get that Ausiello DOES spoilers, but does he have to write them in the title? Couldn’t he have said something like “Dead Dexter star on DH” instead of saying Julie Benz’s name?
I agree. It’s getting tough for those of us who watch HBO and Showtime shows on DVD to avoid spoilers (and I really try!).
Although I’m thrilled to hear that Rita gets killed, that character is SO annoying. I’ll look forward to it.
Julie Benz will fit right on Wisteria Lane, what with her boob job and Botox.
@imwithyou, I know not everyone has cable, I mention that in my comment. Hell, I don’t even have HBO or Showtime, but there are ways around that, I watch online. Some places the shows can be up in as little as a few hours. But my point is, once the episode has aired, talking/posting about it is not considered spoilers.
Actually, I didn’t have time to watch the finale until 2 days after it aired, but during that time I was prudent enough to stay off of imdb, here, any message boards etc, because I knew the end would get spoiled otherwise. That’s just the way it is, viewers have to take extra pains to avoid this information cause it’s going to be out, so the onus is on you to steer clear.
Cheery, what the f we’re doing here is that it was on the rotating window of news. We clicked on it to tell EW that they are total AusHOLES!
Im with you i got spoiled too haha, and i dont know how were suppose to watch it in a more timely fashion if we dont want to pay for showtime
Michael you’re killing me here!!! I have been in a holiday marathon of Dexter season 4 and was just about to watch the finale when I checked EW…only to have Rita’s fate revealed to me. Normally I agree that you can’t keep spoilers hidden forever but you gave it away in the freaking title and I have been actively working to avoid spoilers but still enjoy this website. In the future please keep details like this in the text of the article!!
James, at least watch it LEGALLY. So I guess that’s what we’ve got to do – throw our integrity to the wind and watch pirated versions like “everyone else.” Or get spoiled. I don’t know about you, but that’s not much of a choice.
anitamargarita: iTunes isn’t free, and it’s perfectly legal. Unfortunately they’re not always timely about uploads. If he wanted to watch it pirated he could have done so the same night it aired on showtime. In summary, stfu noob
If it’s aired, it’s not a spoiler. Period. I thought they went above and beyond not talking about it for a MONTH.
If you haven’t watched it yet, you take your chances on the internet.
@cgpunker — My thoughts exactly. You said it perfectly.
People know they can basically find anything and everything online. Therefore, if you’re trying to avoid information, you really should tread carefully when surfing the Internet.
I don’t have cable, but have found ways to get to see Dexter in an-only-slightly-delayed manor. It’s not a spoiler if the show has aired. I didn’t get all bent out of shape when I heard about Rita before I could see the finale a day later. Yes, it spoiled it for me, but that’s my problem, not the tweeters and blog sites’ fault.
Except Showtime didn’t PUT it on the internet. It hasn’t been available yet. Still a spoiler.
How is it that you guys haven’t heard this already? I haven’t watched it yet either but heard about it almost immediately and it hasn’t spoiled the ending. You still don’t know exactly how she died or what leads up to it or how it will affect Dexter.
Hey Jeff..guess wat…Rosebud is a sled and Bruce Willis is actually dead in The Sixth Sense.
Buffy FREAK – guess what. The Rosebud movie is older than your Mom, and the Sixth Sense was like, ten years ago. This was last month. You’re a total jack ass.
NOOOO!!! You ruined Citizen Kane for me
Oh Anita…such a loser! Just how long is the world supposed to wait? Yes those examples are really old but undoubtedly there are a whole lot of people who have never seen them. The date YOU think is okay may not be okay with others. Should we wait for the DVD to be released? Or a few weeks after to ensure people have watched them? Just how long should the world stop to allow numbskulls like you to get around to watching the show. Pony up for Showtime or shut the frak up.
Right on, Buffy Freak. I, for one, haven’t seen The Sixth Sense, but now that I know ‘the big spoiler secret’, I might actually watch it.
Can you take it, Anitamargarita? Someone actually watching a show BECAUSE of a spoiler? Does it make your widdle head hurt?
It’s been said before, but not obviously enough, so here goes -
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ SPOILERS, THEN STAY OFF THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!
PERIOD!!!!!!
AND DON’T BLAME OTHER PEOPLE IF THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T SEEN – THAT’S NOT THEIR FAULT.
/shouting
Soooo with you on this! Can’t believe it was in the frakkin’ title… no way to avoid it.
Excellent – Wisteria Lane needs a little dose of Darla…er, Rita…er, “Deb”. (On a side note, she just doesn’t age. Are we sure she isn’t a 16th century vamp?)
How advanced has Susan gotten in her part-time teacher’s aid work that she can offer this new character anything?
Don’t all strippers have a heart of gold?!
Too cute
Yes Rod, I believe they do. LMAO
YES! Can’t wait to see her back on TV and in a funny role too!
she could be a regular and I’d be happy …..
Ugh, NO! Can’t stomach her..