Dexter is an American television drama series that airs on the pay-TV channel Showtime. It debuted on October 1, 2006, and filming has begun on the fifth season, due to begin airing on September 26, 2010. Set in Miami, the show centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall)—a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami-Dade Police Department, who is secretly a serial killer. The show's first season was loosely based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, the first of his series of Dexter novels. Subsequent seasons have evolved independently of Lindsay's works. It was adapted for television by screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode.
Dexter operates his killing around "The Code," a body of ethics and procedures devised by his adoptive father Harry (who was a Miami cop) to (1) ensure that Dexter only kills other killers and (2) make sure Dexter never gets caught. Harry also trained Dexter in how to interact convincingly with other people, despite being a psychopath. As an adult, Dexter has largely escaped suspicion (with some exceptions) by being genial and generous and maintaining generally superficial relationships. However, his attachment to his sister Deb, his significant other Rita, his stepchildren and (later) his biological son have all complicated his duplicitous lifestyle while making him question his need to kill.
In February 2008, edited reruns began to air on CBS. The series has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and popularity. Season 4 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.[1] Michael C. Hall has won several awards for his portrayal of Dexter, including two Golden Globes and an Emmy. The show has not been without its critics, however, and has been associated with two crimes, including a murder.
Cast
See also: List of Dexter characters
Dexter Morgan
In addition to Michael C. Hall, the show's principal cast includes Hall's real-life wife Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's sister, Detective Debra Morgan, Julie Benz as Dexter's wife Rita Bennett Morgan, and James Remar as Dexter's deceased father Harry. Dexter's co-workers include Lauren Vélez as Lt. Maria LaGuerta, Dexter and Debra's supervisor, David Zayas as Sergeant Angel Batista, and C.S. Lee as lab tech Vince Masuka (promoted to title credits as of Season 2). Rita's children Astor and Cody are played by Christina Robinson and Preston Bailey (who replaced Daniel Goldman after the first season). Erik King portrayed the troubled Sgt. James Doakes for the first two seasons of the show. Desmond Harrington joined the cast in Season 3 as Detective Joey Quinn; his name was promoted to the title credits as of Season 4. Keith Carradine, as Special FBI Agent Frank Lundy and Jimmy Smits, as ADA Miguel Prado, each appeared in season-long character arcs in seasons 2 and 3, respectively. John Lithgow joined the cast in season four as the "Trinity Killer". Carradine returned in Season 4, reprising his role as newly-retired FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, who was hunting the Trinity Killer.
Notable appearances in Season 1 are Christian Camargo as Rudy Cooper, who woos Debra; and Mark Pellegrino, as Rita's abusive ex-husband Paul. Brad William Henke had a role as amputee victim Tony Tucci in the first season as well. Margo Martindale has a recurring role as Camilla, a records office worker who was close friends with Dexter's adoptive parents. Geoff Pierson plays Captain Tom Matthews of Miami Metro Homicide. Jaime Murray portrayed Lila Tournay in Season 2, a beautiful but unhinged British artist who becomes obsessed with Dexter. Anne Ramsay portrayed defense attorney Ellen Wolf, Miguel's arch-nemesis. Valerie Cruz had a recurring role as Miguel's wife, Sylvia. David Ramsey, who plays confidential informant Anton Briggs in Season 3, returned in Season 4, romantically involved with Debra. Courtney Ford was featured as an ambitious reporter who mixes business with pleasure, getting romantically involved with Quinn while simultaneously fishing for sources and stories.Crew
The main creative forces behind the series (head writers–showrunners) are executive producers Daniel Cerone, Clyde Phillips and Melissa Rosenberg; Cerone left the show after its second season. Coming off a record-setting Season 4 finale, executive producer and showrunner Clyde Phillips is departing the series to spend more time with his family. 24 co-executive producer Chip Johannessen will fill Phillips' postSeries outset
Orphaned at the age of three, Dexter Morgan is adopted by Miami police officer, Harry Morgan. After discovering that young Dexter has been killing neighborhood pets, Harry believes that the boy is a sociopath and teaches him to channel his violent urges towards people who "deserve it". Dexter's victims must be killers themselves; people who have killed the undeserving with no remorse. He must also have proof that the criminals are guilty and that they intend to kill again before he takes action.
Flashbacks throughout the series show how Harry, who died several years before, instructed Dexter in the art of appearing normal and covering his tracks. Dexter follows Harry's instructions, "The Code", closely. Like many serial killers, Dexter keeps trophies; before dispatching a wrongdoer, Dexter makes a small incision on their right cheek with a scalpel and collects a blood sample which he preserves on a blood film. He stores his collection in a box concealed inside his air conditioner.
Although his drive to kill is unstoppable, by following Harry's instructions Dexter is able to fake 'normal' emotions and maintain his appearance as an unremarkable friend and neighbor.
Despite not having any "real" feelings, he feels affection toward Harry’s biological daughter (and his adoptive sister), Debra. Debra makes her jealousy of the perceived preferential treatment Harry gave Dexter known but is unaware of Harry's training or Dexter's secret life. As part of his "disguise", Dexter dates a woman named Rita who is too traumatized from years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Paul, to be intimate with Dexter. This suits Dexter, who believes he is unable to fake intimate emotions. He also is fond of Rita’s two children, Astor and Cody.
Season 1
Main article: Dexter (season 1)
"The Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer eluding the Miami PD, has been communicating with Dexter through his crime scenes. Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King) suspects that Dexter has some connection to the Ice Truck Killer and starts to keep him under surveillance. Meanwhile, Paul, Rita's abusive ex-husband, is released from prison on parole. After Paul's repeated attempts to get back in Rita’s life, Dexter sets him up to look like he violated his parole. While back in prison proclaiming his innocence, Paul points Rita to a clue to the truth about Dexter, which she dismisses.
Debra begins dating a man named Rudy, who is later revealed to be the Ice Truck Killer. Rudy also reveals to Dexter that he is his biological brother, Brian Moser. He describes additional details of Dexter's early childhood to him. The formative event for the brothers was witnessing their mother and several other people being butchered by a drug dealer and being locked in a cargo container for two days with the dismembered corpses, the floor covered in blood. Harry adopts Dexter while leaving Brian to the child welfare system, where ultimately, he ends up in a mental institution for disturbed children. The first novel only implies that Harry chose not to adopt Brian because he was older and more likely to be traumatized; however, in the TV program, both Brian and Tom Matthews, Harry's best friend and former superior, state this to be true. Brian spent much of his childhood institutionalized. Harry, deliberately hid the details about the crime from Dexter, as well as information about his biological family.
Brian kidnaps Debra with the intention that he and Dexter would kill her together to cement their bond and sever the ties between Dexter and his adoptive family. Dexter instead turns against Brian and ultimately kills him, making the death look like a suicide. Everyone, including Debra, remains unaware of the exact connection between Dexter and Rudy/Brian. Dexter feels some regret over killing Brian, the one person who fully understood him, in order to save Debra, whom he knows would reject him if she ever learned his true nature.
In the United States, the complete first season of Dexter was released in a four-disc DVD package on August 21, 2007. On January 6, 2009, a three disc Blu-ray version was released.
Season 1 was an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in the series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Future Dexter seasons featured original storylines.
Season 2
Main article: Dexter (season 2)
Dexter has been unable to satisfy his homicidal urges for over a month, due to the constant surveillance by Sgt. Doakes. Having killed his own brother makes it difficult to kill other victims when the opportunity arises. Also, Dexter learns that Harry, the adoptive father who taught him The Code of ethics by which he lives his life and controls/channels his homicidal urges, was sleeping with Dexter's biological mother before she died. In addition to all this he learns that Harry, after walking in on Dexter in the middle of a murder, was unable to deal with the reality of the monster he had created and committed suicide. This causes Dexter to have profound difficulty with his life as a serial killer. His faith in the Code of Harry destroyed, Dexter plays out the possible resulting scenarios in his head of turning himself in.
Debra's experience with the Ice Truck Killer continues to traumatize her. For a sense of safety and comfort, she stays with her brother, another new source of stress in Dexter's life. To further complicate matters, treasure hunters discover Dexter's underwater dumping ground for his victims. As the police extract body parts from the ocean, the media dubs the killer the "Bay Harbor Butcher," and FBI Special Agent Lundy is brought in to catch him. A cult following begins to form behind the "Butcher" when it is discovered that his victims were themselves responsible for deaths.
Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes tense as she and her children deal with the death of her ex-husband Paul, who was killed in a prison fight. Paul's repeated suggestions that Dexter was to blame for his imprisonment cause Rita to finally accuse Dexter of setting up her ex-husband. Dexter admits to setting up Paul, but Rita refuses to believe that Dexter premeditated the crime and assumes that Dexter is a heroin addict. He admits to "having an addiction"; in return, she vows to stay with him while he goes through the Narcotics Anonymous program. There, he meets and becomes involved with his sponsor, Lila, a pyromaniac who starts to obsessively pursue Dexter.
Doakes confronts Dexter leaving an NA meeting. Doakes is temporarily satisfied that Dexter's odd behavior can be explained by the traumatic experience of a law enforcement career combined with drug abuse. Doakes' suspicions about Dexter eventually return, and he ultimately discovers Dexter's glass slides. The possibility of matching them with the bodies of the Butcher's victims sets up a climactic showdown in which Doakes confronts Dexter at a remote cabin, ending with Dexter overpowering Doakes and keeping him locked in a cage inside the cabin. Dexter then begins framing Doakes as the Butcher after the police discover Dexter's slides in Doakes's car. Lieutenant LaGuerta, Doakes's former partner, is the only one who believes that Doakes is innocent. She finds evidence of this and takes it to Lundy, who rejects LaGuerta's case files.
In the season finale, Lila finds the cabin where Doakes is imprisoned and causes a propane tank explosion, killing Doakes and blowing up the corpse of one of Dexter's victims, thus preventing Dexter from being caught. Lila then meets with Dexter, expecting him to accept her love now that she knows his "dark secret". She catches him preparing to kill her and seeks revenge by trying to kill Rita's children. Dexter saves the children and escapes, later exacting his own revenge on her after she has fled to Paris. In the closing scenes, Doakes' memorial service goes largely unattended, with the exception of LaGuerta, Dexter, and Doakes' immediate family.
Season 2 premiered on September 30, 2007. On July 17, the first two episodes of the season were leaked on the Internet, and on December 4, the last two episodes were also leaked.[3] On November 4, 2007, the Writer's Guild of America started a strike, but writer Daniel Cerone stated in the L.A. Times that Season 2 had already been completed in anticipation of the WGA's action.[4]
The complete second season of Dexter was released in the United States and Canada on August 19, 2008. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on August 21, 2008. Season 2 was released on Blu-ray on May 5, 2009.[5]
Season 3
Main article: Dexter (season 3)
Rita discovers she is pregnant, informing Dexter that she will keep the baby and raise him with or without his help. He ends up proposing marriage to Rita, which she eventually accepts.
While stalking a murderous drug dealer, "Freebo", Dexter stumbles upon a fight between Freebo and another man, whom he is forced to kill in self defense. This victim turns out to be Oscar Prado, brother of Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) a prominent assistant district attorney and old flame of Lt. LaGuerta. Miguel comes to confide in and trust Dexter after he helps assist with the case.
Dexter tracks down Freebo and kills him, but as he leaves he encounters Miguel, who has followed a lead to Freebo's location. Dexter tells Miguel he had discovered Freebo and killed him in self defense, but instead of reprimanding him, Miguel thanks him and offers to help him cover up the crime. As Dexter and Miguel cooperate to conceal Freebo's true demise from everyone else, the duo end up becoming close friends, as do Rita and Miguel's wife, Sylvia.
Later, Miguel discovers that Dexter killed a murderer Miguel had complained to him about before. He praises Dexter for killing another criminal and offers his aid in the future. Trying to discourage Miguel, Dexter proposes a risky operation to free an infamous Aryan Brotherhood leader from prison in order to kill him. Miguel agrees with the idea and the plan succeeds. Dexter starts to recognize Miguel as his first and only true friend, to the point of inviting him to be his best man at his wedding.
Debra starts working more seriously to earn her detective shield, and also starts working with a new partner, Joey Quinn. They investigate a serial killer, "The Skinner", who skins his victims alive. She also starts a relationship with Anton, one of Quinn's confidential informants.
Miguel and Dexter's partnership takes a new step when Miguel offers to be the one to kill their next target. With some reluctance, Dexter agrees, only watching as Miguel kills without hesitation. The next day, Ellen Wolf, a ruthless defense attorney and old courtroom adversary of Miguel's, goes missing, and Dexter discovers that Miguel has killed her alone. Dexter also learns that Miguel has been manipulating him since the beginning, having never trusted him at all.
The police investigate the death of Ellen Wolf and capture The Skinner. Dexter eventually realizes that Miguel cannot be allowed to run loose any longer, at which point Dexter decides to kill him and make it look like The Skinner did it. Meanwhile, Miguel uses his position to help The Skinner escape police custody in return for his agreeing to kill Dexter.
Striving to discover the truth about Ellen Wolf's death, LaGuerta ends up obtaining evidence which links Miguel to the crime. Miguel discovers that LaGuerta was investigating him and decides to kill her, but Dexter discovers Miguel's plot and captures him. Before killing Miguel, Dexter confesses to him that he was the one who killed Oscar.
After Miguel's body is discovered, he is immediately identified as a victim of The Skinner, just as Dexter planned. Miguel's other brother, Ramon, however, becomes suspicious of Dexter. After pointing a gun at Dexter during a dinner with Rita, he is taken into custody. During a visit to him in jail, Dexter helps Ramon put his demons to rest.
On the night before his wedding, Dexter is captured by The Skinner, but breaks free by taking advantage of a moment when the Skinner is distracted, shattering his hand in the process. After a short but vicious fight, Dexter snaps The Skinner's neck and make it look like suicide by throwing his body before a running police car. Dexter gets his broken hand put in a cast and attends his wedding.
The complete third season of Dexter was released in the United States and Canada on DVD and Blu-ray on August 18, 2009.
Season 4
Main article: Dexter (season 4)
Dexter is now a family man, and Rita has given birth to a baby boy named Harrison. The family has moved to the suburbs, where Dexter struggles to reconcile his new life with his killing urges. Special Agent Frank Lundy returns to hunt down the "Trinity Killer" (John Lithgow) who he believes always murders three people in a very specific sequence: a young woman in a bathtub, an older mother of two falling to her death, and a father of two bludgeoned to death.
Lundy begins working with Debra and shortly after, an unseen assailant shoots them both, killing Lundy. Afterwards, Debra is barred from working the Trinity case because the shooting is suspected to be the work of Trinity, making Debra a victim. Debra eventually discovers that Trinity was not the shooter, and she is put in charge of the case. Meanwhile, LaGuerta and Batista have renewed their relationship and, in danger of losing their jobs, decide to marry.
While investigating Lundy's data about Trinity, Dexter determines Lundy was killed because he had determined when and where Trinity would claim his third victim. Dexter stakes out the building, and witnesses Trinity bludgeoning a man on a security camera. Dexter follows Trinity to his home, where he is surprised to discover that Trinity is a family man named Arthur Mitchell. Using the alias Kyle Butler, Dexter attends the same church as Arthur and eventually befriends him. While investigating the reasons behind Arthur's crimes, Dexter learns how he manages to reconcile his family life with his killing urges and utilizes that knowledge to deal with his own issues.
Dexter visits Arthur at his home and discovers that he will be traveling to Tampa on another building project, which could be the start of another cycle. Dexter decides to make the trip with Arthur to ensure this does not happen. On the way, Arthur takes Dexter to his childhood home and reveals that at the age of ten, he spied on his older sister in the shower out of innocent curiosity. Startled by his presence, she slips in the shower, shattering the glass shower door and cutting open her femoral artery, causing her to bleed to death. His mother committed suicide and his father died soon after. Dexter realizes that Arthur compulsively murders groups of people that bear resemblance to those in his family, recreating their deaths each time.
During Thanksgiving at Arthur's home, Dexter learns that Arthur has been terrorizing his family, locking his daughter away in her bedroom and physically abusing his son. After Arthur attacks his son, Dexter is forced to restrain him. Arthur then goes to see a reporter who has been snooping around the Miami P.D., Christine Hill, who is revealed to be his illegitimate daughter.
Later Arthur kidnaps a boy while being pursued by Dexter. Dexter does some research and finds out that Trinity's pattern begins with the abduction and murder of a ten year old boy first; revealing Trinity's pattern actually cycles in groups of four with the boys always disappearing five days before the first bathtub death. Dexter locates where Arthur is holding the boy and arrives just in time to save him as Arthur escapes.
Debra begins to investigate and eventually arrests Christine after finding that she is Trinity’s daughter. However, Christine is released due to a lack of evidence. Christine secretly contacts Arthur, but he refuses to help her and instead forbids further contact. Arthur also reveals his disdain for her having killed Frank Lundy, which she did to protect her father. Realizing the error of her ways, Christine confesses to Debra. Distraught, Christine seeks forgiveness from Debra, which she refuses. Christine then pulls out a gun and commits suicide in front of her.
One of Harry's old informants takes Deb to the house of Laura Moser. Deb immediately recognizes the house as the home of Brian Moser, the Ice Truck Killer. After piecing together Dexter's connection to Brian and Laura, Deb reveals this information to Dexter, explaining that Laura was his mother and Brian his brother. Dexter feigns surprise, stating that Brian must have tried to get to him through Deb.
Dexter decides that he must draw police attention away from Arthur, so he finds a man whom he can kill and pin the blame on. He then plants evidence and kills the man. Arthur lures Dexter to an arcade where he previously stalked victims and follows Dexter back to the police station, where he learns Dexter's true identity. Soon after, Dexter tails Arthur, but sideswipes a car on the way. Dexter captures and drugs Arthur, but the driver of the damaged car has found Dexter's car, called the police, and in the ensuing confrontation, Dexter is taken in by the police for leaving the scene of an accident and fighting with the driver in the presence of the police. By the time Dexter is released due to cell overcrowding, Arthur is gone from where Dexter had left his unconscious body.
Dexter eventually tracks down Arthur, capturing and bringing him to the bomb shelter where he held the missing boy. Dexter kills Arthur with a hammer and dumps the body. He returns home and picks up a message from Rita. After listening to the message, he decides to call her back. He hears Rita's phone ring from within the house and soon after, he hears Harrison crying. He rushes to the bathroom, where he finds Harrison sitting on the tile floor in a pool of blood while Rita lies dead in the bathtub, apparently having been murdered by Arthur.
Season 5
Showtime has renewed Dexter for a fifth season, which is set to premiere September 26, 2010.[7] Julia Stiles will guest star in 10 episodes as a new woman in Dexter's life.[8] Shawn Hatosy will appear in a multiple episode arc as a "bad guy".[9] Maria Doyle Kennedy will also join the cast of Dexter in Season 5 as an Irish nanny. April Lee Hernandez has been called for a recurring role as a police officer. Jonny Lee Miller has been added to the cast, and will have something to do with Julia Stiles' character.[10] Also Peter Weller will join the cast and he will be playing "a troubled Miami Metro police officer who gets caught up in an internal affairs investigation." The actor will appear in eight of the twelve episodes.
Early Cuts
Dexter: Early Cuts, is a 12-part animated web series, that premiered on October 25, 2009[12] and concluded on January 3, 2010. Michael C. Hall reprises his role as the voice of Dexter.[13]
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, Andre Vera Martinez and Devin Lawson for creating distinctive illustrations. The webisodes are animated with 2.5D style, where flat 2D illustrations are brought to life in 3D space.
The web series precedes the current narrative of the show and revolves around Dexter hunting down the three victims that he mentions in the sixth episode of season 1, "Return to Sender". Each victim has his own story and each one is split into four chapters.
A second web series has been commissioned called 'Dark Echo' and is now in production with the trailer viewable on Dexters's showtime homepage
Title sequence
Dexter's opening title sequence features an extended montage where ordinary day-to-day events such as shaving, flossing, dressing, preparing breakfast and eating are used visually to evoke Dexter's sinister nature.[14] Per television critic Jim Emerson, "The first time you see it... it tells you everything you need to know about the character."[14]
The series won an Emmy Award in 2007 for "Outstanding Main Title Design", and the title music was nominated for "Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music". The title design and music were created by Digital Kitchen,[15] the same production company responsible for the main titles on True Blood, Nip/Tuck, and Six Feet Under
Critical reception
The initial response to Dexter was positive. The website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 for season 1 based on 27 reviews, making it the third-best reviewed show of the 2006 fall season. This score includes four 100% scores from the New York Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and People Weekly.[17] Brian Lowry, who had written one of the three poor reviews Metacritic tallied for the show, recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety after watching the full season.[18] On Metacritic Season 2 has a score of 85 with all 11 reviews positive, season 3 has 78 with 13 reviews and season 4 has 79 with 14 reviews. While remarking on some of the show's more formulaic elements (quirky detective, hero with dense workmates, convenient plot contrivances), Tad Friend with the New Yorker remarked that when Dexter is struggling to connect with Rita or soliciting advice from his victims, "at such moments, the show finds its voice."[19]
On December 14, 2006, Michael C. Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor in a Television Drama Series for playing Dexter. He was also renominated and won the Golden Globe Award for his role as Dexter at the 2010 ceremony. The show was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season (Showtime's first ever drama to be nominated for the award), and its star for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It won neither, losing to Mad Men and to Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston.[20] In 2008, it won a Scream Award For Best TV Show. In 2010, Michael C. Hall won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. John Lithgow won the award for Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for his role in the series the same night.
Popular reception
The third season finale on December 14, 2008 was watched by 1.51 million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings for any of its original series since 2004, when Nielsen started including original shows on premium channels in its ratings.[21] The fourth season finale aired on December 13, 2009 and was watched by 2.6 million viewers. It broke records for all of Showtime's original series and was their highest rated telecast in over a decade
Video game
A video game based on Dexter developed by Icarus Studios, based on the events of season one, was released on September 13, 2009. It is available exclusively for the iPhone platform in the iTunes App Store. The cast and crew of Dexter have been very supportive, with some of the cast providing full voice work for the game, including Michael C. Hall. Critical reception has been very good, with the game receiving many positive reviews, including an 8.0/10 from IGN. No additional content for the game has currently been released or announced as planned. Additionally, there have been no announcements of expanding the game onto other platforms.
Soundtrack
Main article: Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series
The music from the Dexter TV series was released August 28, 2007 on the album Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series. It is produced by Showtime, and distributed by Milan Records. The album is also available online on the iTunes store. The iTunes release includes five additional bonus tracks from Seasons 1 and 2.
Most notable is the recurring theme from the end credits, which features artificial harmonics on bowed string instruments (violins, violas and cellos), reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's pivotal "black and white", strings-only score for Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, Psycho. Herrmann utilized artificial harmonics for the music to the famous shower scene, where the staccato harmonic glissandos, in Stravinsky-like dissonant tonalities, represent the knife stabbings of that film's title serial killer.
Also notable is the fact that the score[s] seem to use live instruments, not synthesized sounds, as is common in most of today's television programs.[citation needed]
Gary Calamar, whose company Go Music also provides non-score music for True Blood, House and Men Of A Certain Age, music supervises Dexter (along with Music Coordinator Alyson Vidoli).
[edit] Merchandise
Awards
Main article: List of Dexter awards and nominations
[edit] Wins
2006
* AFI Awards: TV Program of the Year—Official Selection
* IGN: Best New Show[45]
* IGN: Best Actor—Michael C. Hall[46]
* IGN: Best Villain—The Ice Truck Killer[47]
* IGN: Best Character—Dexter Morgan[48]
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series—Julie Benz
2007
* Emmy: Outstanding Main Title Design
* Emmy: Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
* IGN: Best Storyline[49]
* IGN: Best Television Program[50]
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series—David Zayas
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama—Michael C. Hall
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Television Series, Drama
* Saturn Awards: Best Actor in a Television Program—Michael C. Hall
* Television Critics Association: Individual Achievement in Drama—Michael C. Hall
2008
* Saturn Awards: Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series[51]
* Scream Awards: Best TV Show
2009
* Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama (Michael C. Hall)[52]
* Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (John Lithgow)[52]
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
[edit] Nominations
2006
* Golden Globe: Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series: Drama—Michael C. Hall
* IGN: Best Television Program[53]
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama—Michael C. Hall
* Satellite Awards: Outstanding Television Series, Drama
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
2007
* Emmy: Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, Drama
* Emmy: Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
* Golden Globe: Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Drama—Michael C. Hall[54]
* Saturn Awards: Best Supporting Actor in a Television Program—James Remar
* Saturn Awards: Best Supporting Actress in a Television Program—Jennifer Carpenter
* Saturn Awards: Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
* Television Critics Association: New Program of the Year
* WGA: Episodic Drama—any length—one airing time Dark Defender
* WGA: Best Dramatic Series[55][56][57]
* Peabody Award: Announced April 2, 2008[citation needed]
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
2008
* Emmy: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
* Emmy: Outstanding Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Art Direction—Tony Cowley, Linda Spheeris
* Emmy: Outstanding Cinematography—Romeo Tirone
* Golden Globe: Best Television Series—Drama
* Golden Globe: Nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Drama—Michael C. Hall
* WGA: Best Dramatic Series[58]
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2009
* Emmy: Outstanding Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series — Michael C. Hall
* Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — Jimmy Smits
* Crime Thriller Awards: The International TV Dagger[59]
* Golden Globe: Best Television Series – Drama[52]
* Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama (Michael C. Hall)[52]
* Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (John Lithgow)[52]
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series—Michael C. Hall
* SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2010
* Emmy: Outstanding Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series - Michael C. Hall
* Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - John Lithgow
* Emmy: Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
* Emmy: Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Fiction
* Emmy: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)
