The joke about actors is that they always want to direct as well. In movies, you can see that success with big names like Clint Eastwood, Jon Favreau, and Ron Howard, but it happens a lot in TV too, and you probably don’t even notice. Take, for example, Monica Raymund. She starred on NBC’s Chicago Fire for six years as Gabriela Dawson before leaving the series in 2019. While she still acts today, most recently in Hightown, she is making her name as a director of some rather big TV shows. If you’re a Dexter fan, you’re very familiar with her work, even if her name doesn’t ring a bell if you’re not paying attention to the opening credits. Last year, she directed several episodes of Dexter: Original Sin, and now she’s back at the helm of four more episodes of Michael C. Hall‘s return to the character in Dexter: Resurrection.
Before Directing Episodes of ‘Dexter: Resurrection,’ Monica Raymund Starred in ‘Chicago Fire’
Monica Raymund first gained national attention as an actor by playing Ria Torres on Fox’s Lie to Me. As one of the main stars, she got to work alongside the likes of Tim Roth and Kelli Williams, but when Lie to Me came to an end after two seasons, Raymund’s value grew as the lead on Chicago Fire. She starred as Paramedic in Charge Gabriela “Gabby Dawson” on the hit NBC series for six seasons before leaving — not because the show had been canceled, but by choice. In an interview with NBC, Raymund said:
“I’m not sure the exact moment when it happened, but I knew that my six-year contract was coming to an end and I felt like I was hungry to explore a different role, a different story. I wanted to explore a different world. I had been in Chicago for five years and just personally where I was in my life, I was ready to create my home and kind of plant some roots in Los Angeles.”
Monica Raymund Became a TV Director While Also Starring in ‘Hightown’
In 2018, as Raymund took a huge risk by leaving the safety and comfort of Chicago Fire, she started trying her hand at TV directing. She was at the helm of a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode that year, before directing three episodes of FBI, along with a few other series. Raymund is so talented that she even pulled double duty on Hightown, directing two episodes.
In a 2020 interview with Wolf Entertainment, Raymund spoke about the challenges and joys of being a director, saying:
“I absolutely love working under that kind of pressure. Maybe it’s because there’s no time for bullshit. My ego gets out of the way and all that matters is getting the essential moments — it is my job to tell the story. Story first, always. So when the clock is ticking or problems arise, my adrenaline starts pumping and my artist cap is tightly fastened to my brain and I become utterly obsessed with crafting the world of the place. That is when I am most a peace — telling the story.”
Monica Raymund Has Directed Several Episodes of Two Dexter Shows
When Showtime’s Dexter ended after eight seasons in 2013, fans were very disappointed by the ending. Yet our favorite TV serial killer was brought back in 2021 for one season of Dexter: New Blood. That series, too, had a controversial ending. With Dexter Morgan seemingly dead at that moment, it looked like the IP was being milked dry when showrunners decided to create a prequel with a young Dexter called Dexter: Original Sin, and now starring Patrick Gibson in the title role. Original Sin could have been a disaster, but instead it ended up being way better than it had any right to be.
There are many reasons why Original Sin was successful. Gibson was able to capture the mannerisms of Michael C. Hall’s performance without acting like a clone, Molly Brown found the vulnerable toughness of Debra, and Christian Slater gave a layered performance as Harry Morgan. The directing also made Dexter: Original Sin feel just like old times. Six episodes were helmed by Michael Lehmann, who has not only directed The Larry Sanders Show, True Blood, and American Horror Story, among many others, but also made some major motion pictures, including the cult classic Heathers, 40 Days and 40 Nights, and Airheads.
Raymund was tasked with directing the remaining four episodes of Dexter: Original Sin, and was ultimately brought back for Dexter: Resurrection, serving again as a producer. Alongside Marcos Siega, another returning face to the Dexter franchise who has helmed movies like Pretty Persuasion and Chaos Theory, and episodes of shows such as Cold Case, Raymund is lending her talents behind the camera. It’s no surprise that part of the reason Dexter: Resurrection works is because it’s being led by two names who have a history with its preceding shows, but even the most diehard Chicago Fire fans might not be aware of what Raymund has been doing since her exit from the hit NBC series.
