Dexter is an award-winning, original Showtime television series based on the Dexter character who features in a book series written by Jeff Lindsay.http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/about.do http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/awards The first series of the show closely followed the first book, entitled Darkly Dreaming Dexter.http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/dexter/

The show features Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a Miami police blood spatter expert who moonlights as a serial killer. He targets other killers who have escaped the criminal justice system.http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/cast.do?name=dexter_morgan

A variety of guest actors have appeared throughout the show's five series. These include Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado and John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell, who respectively played the leads opposite Dexter in the third and fourth series. Julia Stiles played a lead role, as Lumen Ann Pierce, in series five.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/fullcredits#cast Series regulars who have since left the show include Julie Benz as Dexter's girlfriend/wife (series one to four), Erik King as Sergeant James Doakes (series one and two) and Keith Carradine as Special Agent Frank Lundy (series two to four).http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/fullcredits#cast

Dexter season six episodes will go into production in Los Angeles in spring 2011.http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEmfnUhRZZHvqt Little is known about the plot, yet the replacement of series five showrunner and executive producer Chip Johannessen by executive producer Scott Buck was announced on December 16, 2010.http://www.deadline.com/2010/12/scott-buck-tapped-as-dexter-showrunner/

Following the ratings success of season five, Showtime renewed the series for a sixth season on December 6, 2010. "Dexter is the best suspense drama on television. To grow its audience so significantly in its fifth season is an enormous accomplishment by this amazing cast and crew. This is the easiest decision I've made since I got to Showtime," David Nevins, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks said.http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEmfnUhRZZHvqt

The tenth episode of the fifth Dexter series made the show's second-highest ratings when it aired on November 28, 2010. The episode's 2.54 million viewers were a 43% improvement on the season's premiere of 1.77 million. The highest-rating episode of the show was the season four finale of 2.57 million viewers.http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEmfnUhRZZHvqt The fifth series as a whole made the highest ratings of the show to date, averaging more than five million viewers per week on television and on-demand.http://www.deadline.com/2010/12/scott-buck-tapped-as-dexter-showrunner/

• Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morganhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• Jennifer Carpenter as Debra Morganhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• Lauren Vélez as Lt. Maria Laguertahttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• David Zayas as Sgt. Angel Batistahttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• James Remar as Harry Morganhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• C.S. Lee as Vince Masukahttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• Desmond Harrington as Joey Quinnhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• Christina Robinson as Astor Bennetthttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
• Preston Bailey as Cody Bennetthttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/

The show's crew, its stars and guest stars, have been nominated for and won numerous awards during its run. These include Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, Satellite Awards, Writers Guild of America honors and Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/awards

Star Michael C. Hall has garnered numerous awards for his portrayal of the likable murderer, including five consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Television Series (for which he won in 2010), and three Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/awards

The first season of the show garnered a universal score of 77 from 100, collated from 27 reviews, on review website Metacritic.http://www.metacritic.com/tv/dexter/season-1 The second series scored an 85 from 11, the third 78 from 13 reviews, the fourth 79 from 14 reviews and the fifth scored 75 from 11 reviews.http://www.metacritic.com/tv/dexter/season-2 http://www.metacritic.com/tv/dexter/season-3 http://www.metacritic.com/tv/dexter/season-4 http://www.metacritic.com/tv/dexter/season-5

"Of course, anything as daring and original as this should be trumpeted to the masses if it indeed does cross a social line that will be discussed in supermarkets and dinner tables (and water coolers) everywhere. People will be talking about "Dexter." Maybe not rabid endorsements. But it will be dissected. As well it should. "Showtime" has taken a unique, bold premise and put just the right actor into the role, while testing the boundaries of what people will find acceptable. That's always the ultimate challenge &mdash providing grown-ups with difficult fare,"—Review of the television series by San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman on September 29, 2006http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/29/DDGH8LDUS21.DTL

"Though it has the veneer of an "edgy" TV show, Dexter at its worst isn't far removed from a standard-issue police procedural, cursed further by crappier production values than network hits like CSI. As Dexter becomes more human—though that's still relative—the show loses some of its initial energy, making the mistake of softening a character distinguished by his blackened soul. But even when it sinks too far into conventionality, it's still riveting television, thanks to superb thriller plotting (the cat-and-mouse game between Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer is particularly gripping), well-employed flashbacks, and a leading man whose charisma holds his psychosis in check,"—Review of the Dexter television show by the A.V. Club's Scott Tobias on August 29, 2007http://www.avclub.com/articles/dexter,7591/

• "People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That's my burden, I guess,"—Dexter on himselfhttp://dexterwiki.sho.com/page/Dexter+Morgan

• "Salt of the earth these people, and they work hard; but with a solve rate for murders at about 20%, Miami is a great place for me. Great place for me to hone my craft. Viva Miami,"—Dexter talks about why he likes Miami, in a voice-overhttp://www.tv.com/dexter/dexter/episode/843320/trivia.html?tag=episode_header;trivia