I was lucky enough to be in the room yesterday at Comic-Con when Showtime debuted a first look at Dexter's upcoming third season. It's just two minutes long, but it includes a bunch of fantastic teases for some of the upcoming action, including the appearance of Jimmy Smits as attorney Miguel Prado, who becomes a friend of Dexter's.

A friend? Really? Yup, Dexter may be becoming a bit more emotionally full this season, and his evolution (along with "family values") will be one of the season's main themes. "Dexter's playing catchup," said executive producer Clyde Phillips, "and he may be catching up faster than he may have planned." He's also going to set some major events into motion in the season premiere that will change him forever — at least one of which is hinted at in the trailer below. And is that some Rita/Dexter lovin' I see? (There were lots of cheers when that part of the trailer aired at Comic-Con.) To check out the trailer for yourself, and see a couple of other tidbits from the panel, just read more.

• Phillips teased that Deb is ready to have a normal relationship this season, but not with the person you might expect.
• Michael C. Hall said his favorite kill as Dexter was Little Chino. "It was just so big!" he said.
• Could Rita and Dexter ever get over the whole serial-killing thing and be a normal couple? Joked Julie Benz, "I honestly believe every man needs a hobby," and Rita would prefer killing to golfing.
• Someone asked about the possibility of a Dexter/CSI crossover, which prompted this response from Michael C. Hall: "It would be funny if I got called in on a CSI episode and all I did was help them solve a crime."

Also, I know this picture's fuzzy, but I just thought it was adorable, so enjoy!