It has been 20 years since the best serial killer television show premiered and somehow turned a mass murderer into an antihero. In an era when bad guys were starting to become more popular thanks to shows like The Sopranos, and crooked cops became huge thanks to shows like The Shield, there was one show that hit Showtime that offered a look at a murderer who killed these bad guys. Dexter starred Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician who specialized in bloodstain pattern analysis for the Miami Metro Police Department. However, when he wasn’t helping the police solve crimes and catch killers, he had a secret life as the serial killer who killed serial killers.
On October 1, 2006, Dexter aired its premiere, “Dexter,” and introduced the world to a series that became one of the most successful Showtime series in history. The series ended up running for eight seasons, and it has since earned sequels that have continued the story of Dexter Morgan for a new legion of fans.
The first episode of Dexter premiered 20 years ago, and it introduced the world to something no one had ever seen on television before. The pilot episode doesn’t hold anything back. It opens with Dexter Morgan stalking a local pastor named Mike Donovan before taking the man to a remote cabin in the Everglades. He then confronts the man with the evidence that the pastor was a serial killer of young boys. This is when Dexter drugs the man, collects a sample of his blood, and then murders him. In his narration, Dexter says he doesn’t know why he has the need to kill, but he learned a moral code from his adoptive father, Harry Morgan, who knew about Dexter’s “Dark Passenger.” Dexter only kills those who “deserve it.”
The show then turns this on its head when it showed that Dexter’s adoptive sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) was a vice officer in the Miami Metro Police Department. It then shows that Dexter is also a member of the police department, the blood spatter specialist who helps catch serial killers, and the two of them are working a case of a serial killer targeting prostitutes. A serial killer who works as a police forensic scientist who kills only serial killers was a selling point that no other show offered. The pilot ends with a serial killer challenging Dexter to find him, and the show never slows down from there.
The pilot was watched by over one million viewers, which was Showtime’s highest rating in almost two years. The critical reception was also positive, with praise for the acting, although some critics didn’t like Dexter’s narration. There were also some critics who questioned using a serial killer as a hero, but that was the lure of the show. As the series proved over its eight seasons, Dexter as the cop who was a serial killer of serial killers was a draw that made it one of the most popular shows on television. Dexter was nominated for 24 Primetime Emmy Awards, including four consecutive nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and five for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (for Hall).
Dexter ended in 2013 with a finale that polarized audiences. After eight years, audiences wanted to see how the show would end, and many longtime viewers left the finale very disappointed. That final episode, “Remember the Monsters?” had Dexter take his own sister off life support, say goodbye to his son, Harrison, and then fake his own death. This all ended with Dexter showing he was still alive and working for a lumber company in Oregon. Fans were not satisfied and felt there were too many unanswered questions and plot holes.
The franchise tried to rectify this by releasing Dexter: New Blood, where Dexter was reunited with his son Harrison, and Dexter once again seemingly died, this time to keep his son from giving in to his own “Dark Passenger.” Shockingly, Dexter was not dead and returned first in Dexter: Original Sin in 2024. Now, Hall is back as Dexter Morgan in Dexter: Resurrection, which finished its first season in 2025 and has been renewed for a second season on Paramount+, which premieres on October 30. It has been 20 years since Showtime brought audiences the greatest serial killer show in history, and Dexter is still going strong today.
