After one of the most shocking deaths in recent TV history, it seems that a beloved actress will return in some fashion to a hit Showtime series. Ausiello Files is reporting that Julie Benz will return as Rita in the Season 5 premiere of Dexter.

It isn't quite clear how Rita will return to the series, but here is an excerpt from the site's article.

"Specific details of Rita's "resurrection" are being kept under wraps, but I'm told she is not coming back from the dead. New showrunner/executive producer Chip Johannessen also rules out a spectral visit a la Dexter's late pa, Harry. "We're not going to do some ghostly thing with her," he says. Adds fellow exec producer Sara Colleton: "We reserve those for Harry. If you have too many things like that it becomes gimmicky."

Benz will star in a brand new ABC series No Ordinary Family, which will debut this fall, so it isn't quite clear when Benz would be available to film this episode. A rep for Showtime also added that Rita's presence will, "help Dexter deal with his newfound feelings of loss and grief - emotions he has never really felt before."

We'll be sure to keep you posted with any more details we receive on this breaking story as soon as we have more information.