Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American crime drama television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013.[1] Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities. The show's first season was derived from the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), the first in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay. It was adapted for television by James Manos Jr., who wrote the first episode.[2] Subsequent seasons evolved independently of Lindsay's works while using many of the same characters and concepts.
Dexter
United States
English
8
96 (list of episodes)
- Daniel Cerone
- Sara Colleton
- Charles H. Eglee
- John Goldwyn
- Michael C. Hall
- Chip Johannessen
- Clyde Phillips
- James Manos, Jr.
- Manny Coto
- Wendy West
- Tim Schlattmann
- Melissa Rosenberg
- Jace Richdale
- Scott Buck
- Robert Lloyd Lewis
- Timothy Schlattmann
- Lauren Gussis
- Scott Reynolds
- Arika Lisanne Mittman
- Drew Z. Greenberg
- Dennis Bishop (pilot only)
- Miami, Florida, U.S.
- Long Beach, California, U.S.
- Terry Stacey
- Romeo Tirone
- Martin J. Layton
- Jeffrey Jur
47–58 minutes
- The Colleton Company
- John Goldwyn Productions
- Clyde Phillips Productions (seasons 2–5)
- 801 Productions (season 6)
- Devilina Productions (seasons 7–8)
- Showtime Networks
October 1, 2006 –
September 22, 2013
The series enjoyed mostly positive reviews throughout its run. The first four seasons were widely praised, but reception dropped considerably as the series progressed. The show has received myriad awards, including two Golden Globes won by Hall and John Lithgow for their roles as Dexter Morgan and Arthur Mitchell, respectively. Season four aired its season finale on December 13, 2009, to a record-breaking audience of 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched original series episode ever on Showtime at that time.[3][4]
In April 2013, Showtime announced that season eight would be the final season of Dexter.[5] The season eight premiere was the most watched Dexter episode, with more than 3 million viewers total.[6] The original broadcast of the series finale on September 22, 2013, drew 2.8 million viewers, the largest audience in Showtime's history.[7]
In October 2020, it was announced that Dexter would return with a ten-episode limited series titled Dexter: New Blood, with Hall reprising the title role and Clyde Phillips as showrunner, a position he occupied during the original series' first four seasons. The first season premiered on November 7, 2021, and concluded on January 9, 2022. A continuation of New Blood is in development.[8][9][10] In January 2023, a prequel series, with the working title Dexter: Origins, was announced as being in development, with Clyde Phillips once again returning as showrunner. This series will follow a younger Dexter as he begins his career with the Miami Metro police department.[11][12][13]
Production[edit]
Exterior filming[edit]
Although the series is set in Miami, Florida, many of the exterior scenes are filmed in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. Many landmark buildings and locations in Long Beach are featured throughout the series.[17] The finale episode's airport scene takes place at Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California.[18]
Marketing[edit]
In preparation for the United Kingdom launch of the series, Fox UK experimented with an SMS-based viral marketing campaign. Mobile phone owners received the following unsolicited SMS messages addressed to them by name with no identifying information other than being from "Dexter": "Hello (name). I'm heading to the UK sooner than you might think. Dexter." The SMS message was followed by an email directing the user to an online video "news report" about a recent spree of killings. Using on-the-fly video manipulation, the user's name and a personalized message were worked into the report—the former written in blood on a wall near the crime scene, the latter added to a note in an evidence bag carried past the camera. While the marketing campaign succeeded in raising the profile of the show, it proved unpopular with many mobile owners, who saw this as spam advertising aimed at mobile phones. In response to complaints about the SMS element of the campaign, Fox issued the following statement:
The opening title theme for Dexter was written by Rolfe Kent and scored by American composer Daniel Licht. The series music for each episode was overseen by Gary Calamar of Go Music and coordinated by Alyson Vidoli.
Other media[edit]
Dexter: Early Cuts[edit]
Dexter: Early Cuts is an animated web series that premiered on October 25, 2009.[68] Hall reprises his role as the voice of Dexter.[69]
KTV Media International Bullseye Art produced and animated the webisodes, working closely with Showtime for sound editing, Interspectacular for direction, and illustrators Kyle Baker, Ty Templeton, Andrés Vera Martínez, and Devin Lawson for creating distinctive illustrations. The webisodes are animated in 2.5D style, where flat two-dimensional illustrations are brought to life in three-dimensional space. The first season was created and written by Dexter producer/writer Lauren Gussis. She was nominated for a Webby for her writing in the first season.
The first web series precedes the narrative of the show and revolves around Dexter hunting down the three victims that he mentions in the sixth episode of season one, "Return to Sender". Each victim's story is split into four two-minute chapters.
A second season of the web series titled Dexter: Early Cuts: Dark Echo, one story in six chapters, premiered on October 25, 2010. It was written by Tim Schlattmann and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack. The story begins immediately following Dexter's adoptive father Harry's death.[70][71]
Season 3 centers around Dexter's first encounter with a pair of killers. Each story is told in several two to three-minute chapters.
Album soundtrack[edit]
In August 2007, the album soundtrack entitled Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series was released featuring music from the television series. The album was produced by Showtime and distributed by Milan Records. The digital download version offers five additional bonus tracks from the show's first two seasons.
Comic book[edit]
Marvel Comics released a Dexter limited series in July 2013. The comic books are written by creator Jeff Lindsay and drawn by Dalihbor Talajic.[72][73] Another limited series, called Dexter: Down Under, was published in 2014.