Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician specializing in blood spatter 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 has received myriad awards, including two Golden Globes won by Hall and John Lithgow for their roles as Dexter Morgan and Arthur Mitchell, respectively.

The sequel series Dexter: New Blood aired from November 2021 to January 2022, with Hall reprising the title role and Clyde Phillips as showrunner.

Orphaned at age three, when he witnessed his mother's brutal murder with a chainsaw, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar).

To cover his prolific trail of homicides, Dexter gains employment as a forensic analyst, specializing in blood spatter pattern analysis, with the Miami Metro Police Department.

Dexter is extremely cautious and circumspect; he wears gloves and uses plastic-wrapped "kill rooms", carves up the corpses, and disposes of them in the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf Stream to reduce his chances of detection.

Rita's children, Astor and Cody, are played by Christina Robinson and Preston Bailey (who replaced Daniel Goldman after the first season).

Keith Carradine, as Special FBI Agent Frank Lundy, and Jimmy Smits, as ADA Miguel Prado, each appeared in season-long character arcs in seasons two and three, respectively.

Carradine returned in season four, reprising his role as newly retired FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, who was hunting the Trinity Killer.

Courtney Ford was featured in season four as an ambitious reporter who mixes business with pleasure, getting romantically involved with Quinn while simultaneously fishing for sources and stories.

Seasons seven and eight featured multiple guest stars, including Ray Stevenson as Ukrainian mob boss Isaak Sirko, a man with a personal vendetta against Dexter; Yvonne Strahovski as Hannah McKay, the former accomplice of a spree killer; Jason Gedrick as strip club owner George Novikov, also part of the mob; and Charlotte Rampling as Dr. Evelyn Vogel, a neuropsychiatrist who takes an interest in Dexter; Ronny Cox as the Tooth Fairy killer; Sean Patrick Flanery as Jacob Elway, a private investigator who Debra works for.

Margo Martindale had a recurring role as Camilla Figg, a records office worker who was close friends with Dexter's adoptive parents.

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.

[19] On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has an 83 percent approval rating with a score of 8.0 out of 10, and the consensus: "Its dark but novel premise may be too grotesque for some, but Dexter is a compelling, elegantly crafted horror-drama.

In December 2007, when CBS publicly announced that it was considering Dexter for broadcast reruns in the wake of the shortage of original programming ensuing from the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, the Parents Television Council ("PTC") protested the decision.

[39][40] When the network began posting promotional videos of the rebroadcast on YouTube on January 29, 2008, PTC president Timothy F. Winter, in a formal press release, again called for CBS not to air the show on broadcast television, saying that it "should remain on a premium subscription cable network" because "the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn't get discovered".

[46] In an affidavit filed in Ohio County court, in Indiana, police said Conley confessed that he "watches a show called Dexter on Showtime, about a serial killer, and he stated, 'I feel just like him.

The man owned the complete Dexter series DVD collection and the methods used to avoid leaving blood traces were inspired by the show.

Nyfløt claimed that Dexter inspired him, and he wanted to kill Khan in front of Faiza, similar to the television series, to "stop evil".

After weeks of testimony and gruesome evidence presented in court, Twitchell was found guilty of the planned and deliberate murder of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger on April 12, 2011.

[52] British teenager Steven Miles, 17, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on October 2, 2014, for stabbing and dismembering his girlfriend Elizabeth Rose Thomas, 17, in Oxted, Surrey.

[53][54][55] On January 11, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana, 34-year-old Benjamin Beale was arrested after police discovered a decapitated body inside a freezer in a painted bus.

[57] They even discovered a grim Dexter profile painting with guns and knives, as this murder was inspired by the "Ice Truck Killer" from the show's 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".

On September 13, 2009, Icarus Studios released a video game based on the events of season one, for the iPhone platform, via the iTunes app store.

The promotion relied on community involvement, part of which required participants to use the SCVNGR applications available for the Android, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch platforms to complete treks around the five cities where the game was available.

A link was found in the room to a (fake) company called Sleep Superbly, which began an extensive Showtime-maintained alternate reality game that continued until Dexter's season-five premiere.

[77] In March 2010, Dark Horse Comics released a seven-inch bust of Dexter Morgan, as part of its Last Toys on the Left series.

[85] On November 17, 2020, it was announced Marcos Siega is set to direct six episodes of the limited series as well as executive produce alongside Hall, John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Bill Carraro, and Scott Reynolds.

[97][98][99] Other cast includes Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Spencer, James Martinez as Angel Batista, Christina Milian as Maria LaGuerta, Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka, Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Tanya Martin.