Dexter is an American television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter James Manos, Jr. The show premiered on the premium cable network Showtime on October 1, 2006. The show has been renewed for a third season.
Set and produced in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a serial killer who works for the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.
Dexter has received considerable critical acclaim and has won two Emmys in technical categories, and has also generated public controversies concerning its content and promotion.
An edited version of the series began airing on CBS on February 17, 2008, due to the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike creating a shortage of new content. Canada’s CTV simulcasts episodes along with CBS, and is also airing the edited version in order to avail of Canadian cable simultaneous substitution rules. Dexter debuted in Canada on The Movie Network and Movie Central on October 2 at 9 PM ET and October 1, 2006 at 8 PM PT respectively.

Plot

List of Dexter episodes

Season 1

Orphaned at the age of three and harboring a traumatic secret, Dexter (Michael C. Hall, Six Feet Under) was adopted by a Miami police officer named Harry Morgan, who recognized his sociopathic tendencies and taught him to channel his gruesome passion for killing and dissecting in a “constructive” way: by killing people who “deserve it”. Known as the ‘Code of Harry’ all of Dexter’s victims must be killers themselves who have killed multiple times with no remorse, and Dexter must have proof that they are definitely guilty before he takes action. Most have slipped through the justice system, due to loopholes and technicalities in the law or were never apprehended.
To satisfy his interest in blood and to ease his own crimes, Dexter works as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department. Although his drive to kill is unflinching (otherwise overcome by a feeling of “emptiness”) Dexter is, through extensive instruction from Harry, able to fake normal emotions and keep up his appearance as a socially responsible human being. He is well-liked by most of his colleagues (with the exception of Sgt. James Doakes), his girlfriend, Rita and her children (a psychologically damaged woman whom Dexter uses as “cover” despite his lack of feelings or interest in sex though he does seem to have some genuine affection for her and the children). The first season focuses mostly on “The Ice Truck Killer” — a serial killer eluding the Miami PD who is communicating with Dexter through his crime scenes. Dexter’s adoptive sister Debra begins dating Rudy, who is revealed to the audience to be the Ice Truck Killer. At the end of the season Rudy attempts to kill Debra, but is stopped by Dexter. Rudy reveals that he is Dexter’s brother. Dexter has no choice but to kill him in order to save Debra; he makes Rudy’s death look like a suicide.
Doakes doesn’t accept the suicide theory and starts tailing Dexter because of his personal suspicions. Rita’s ex-husband, set up by Dexter for a felony parole violation, is back in prison proclaiming his innocence, and points Rita to a clue to the truth about Dexter. The season ends with Dexter and his sister entering a crime scene, with Dexter imagining a tickertape parade for himself, complete with confetti and airplane fly-over, and the crowd praising him for his fine work “taking out the garbage” (i.e. killing those who prey on the weak and vulnerable.)
The complete first season of Dexter was released in a four-disc DVD package on August 21, 2007 in the US.

Season 2

Dexter begins the season unable to satisfy his urges for over a month due to the constant surveillance of Sgt. Doakes. When the opportunity to kill arises, he has problems executing his victims.
To further complicate matters, treasure hunters discover Dexter’s underwater dumping ground for his victims. As the police extract body after body from the ocean, the media dubs the killer the “Bay Harbor Butcher”, and FBI Special Agent Lundy (played by Keith Carradine) is brought in to catch the “Butcher”.
A cult following begins to form behind the “Butcher” when it is discovered that his victims were themselves responsible for deaths. Dexter even finds that a comic-book character, “The Dark Defender”, was created in his honor.
Rita’s relationship with Dexter becomes more tense as she and her children are dealing with the death of her ex-husband Paul in a prison fight. Paul’s suggestion that Dexter was to blame for his imprisonment eats at Rita’s conscience and eventually Rita accuses Dexter of setting up her ex-husband. Dexter admits to setting up Paul, but Rita refuses to believe that Dexter premeditated the crime. She assumes that Dexter is a heroin addict. He acquiesces to being an “addict”, though he characteristically allows her misinterpretation to go without clarification; in return, she vows to stay with him while he goes through the Narcotics Anonymous program. In this way Dexter avoids responsibility for Paul’s death (though he set the process in motion) and consequently maintains the rationalization that he only (directly) kills people who are also serial killers. Doakes pursues Dexter until he spots him at a NA meeting, and his first assumption is that Dexter’s devious behavior is drug-related.
Deb continues to struggle with the trauma of her experience with the Ice Truck Killer. For a sense of safety and comfort, she stays with her brother, another new source of stress in Dexter’s life.
New cast members for this season include Jaime Murray as Lila, a (supposed) former meth addict, pyromaniac and artist who becomes Dexter’s sponsor and later on his lover, Keith Carradine as FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy and JoBeth Williams as Rita’s mother Gail. The role of Rita’s son has been re-cast. Cody is now played by child actor Preston Bailey.
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.On November 4th, 2007, the Writer’s Guild of America started a strike, but writer Daniel Cerone stated in the LA Times that Season 2 had already been completed in anticipation of the WGA’s action.

Throughout Season 2, the Bay Harbor Butcher (Dexter) is pursued by Special Agent Lundy, while Deb’s affection for Lundy and her confidence in her own detective skills both grow. Doakes returns to pursuing his suspicions about Dexter, and ultimately discovers Dexter’s collection of glass slides, containing blood sample souvenirs from all of his victims. The possibility of matching the slides hidden in Dexter’s air conditioner with the bodies of the Butcher’s victims sets up a climactic process in which Doakes confronts Dexter. However, Dexter overpowers him and keeps him locked in a cage, while he sets up Doakes as the Butcher. Lieutenant LaGuerta, Doakes’ former partner, is the only one who believes in Doakes’ innocence. She finds evidence of Doakes’ innocence and takes it to Lundy, but he tells her that the evidence is tainted by her previous failure to report Doakes’ telephone call to her to the investigation team. He therefore rejects the file of records, though he believes she may be right.
In the season finale, Lila causes an explosion at the Cabin where Dexter imprisoned Doakes, blowing up both Doakes and the corpse of one of Dexter’s victims, thereby saving Dexter from discovery. Lila then meets with Dexter, expecting him to finally accept her love now that she knows his secret. But when she catches him preparing to kill her, she seeks revenge by trying to kill Rita’s children and Dexter. Dexter manages to save the children and escape, and then gets 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. Expressing the logic of Dexter’s mental world, the final words in the series are a voice-over of his thoughts on the recent events. We hear that he now considers himself the master of the techniques his father taught him. Dexter believes this combined with the fact that Harry knew himself to be wrong about the code gives Dexter the right to rewrite that code and to live his life the way he wishes. He also states that he now needs those relationships that he originally cultivated as disguises in order to fit into society, even though they make him vulnerable. He considers himself “An idea transcended into life”.
The complete second season is planned for release on August 19th, 2008.

Season 3

A third season of Dexter was announced following the season two finale, in which an ad ran assuring Dexter would return in 2008. Season three will premiere September 28, 2008 on Showtime. Jimmy Smits has signed on to the season 3 cast. He will play Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who will work with Dexter to pursue a murderer who has affected both of their lives. U.S. broadcast controversy

When CBS announced in December 2007 it was considering Dexter for broadcast over the public airwaves, Parents Television Council (PTC), publicly protested the decision.
In preparation for the broadcast premiere of Dexter on CBS, on January 29, 2008 the network posted promotional videos on YouTube. The next day, the PTC for a second time called upon CBS to withdraw plans to broadcast the show. PTC President Timothy F. Winter issued a news release stating “We are formally asking CBS to cancel its plan to air the first season of Dexter on its television network. This show is not suitable for airing on broadcast television; it should remain on a premium subscription cable network. The biggest problem with the series is something that no amount of editing can get around: the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn’t get discovered.” Winter went on to quote CBS President Leslie Moonves post-Columbine comment: ‘Anyone who thinks the media has nothing to do with [increasing violence in society] is an idiot.’ Winter called on the public to demand local affiliates preempt Dexter, and warned advertisers the PTC would take action against any that sponsored the show.
Following Winter’s release, CBS added Parental Discretion advisories to its broadcast (but not the YouTube) promotions. CBS rated Dexter TV-14 for broadcast. The show premiered on February 17, 2008 with minor edits, primarily for language, and with scenes involving dismemberment of live victims cut away. Scenes involving sex were also taken out of the broadcasts.[citation needed] The PTC has also objected to CBS broadcasting the final two episodes of the season in a two-hour block starting at 9:00 P.M. (Eastern/Pacific Time Zones), which translates to 8 P.M. at the Mountain and Central Time Zones, a time it is concerned about a high likelihood of children watching the show.

The first episode of Dexter will be shown in Australia on the 6th of July. If you’ve missed an episode, you wan watch dexter online in australia right here.