"Dexter" bow finds a million blood brothers
Wed Oct 3, 2007 2:45am EDT
By Kimberly Nordyke
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Dexter" killed for Showtime in its second-season premiere.
More than 1 million total viewers tuned in Sunday to the drama series -- which stars Michael C. Hall as a likable forensics expert for the Miami Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer -- according to Nielsen Media Research.
That figure represents a 67% increase over the October 1, 2006, series premiere (603,000 viewers) and is nearly on par with the first-season finale in December (1.1 million), which aired at 10 p.m. This season, "Dexter" has moved to 9 p.m., where it airs opposite shows including ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and CBS' "Cold Case."
It also marks the first time on record that the season premiere of a Showtime series has broken the million-viewer mark for a single run (Nielsen didn't begin reporting Showtime ratings separate from Showtime Plex until 2004).
Showtime has been putting a lot of promotional muscle behind "Dexter" ahead of its second-season bow -- including turning the water red in fountains nationwide. The network also offered a free preview weekend from Friday-Monday for nonsubscribers of the premium channel, though those viewers haven't been factored in to the ratings yet.
"Dexter" stands as Showtime's best season premiere year-to-date. By comparison, the series premiere of "The Tudors" drew 869,000 viewers in April, and the third-season debut of "Weeds" averaged 824,000 in August.
An encore airing at 11 p.m. Sunday averaged 414,000 viewers, and a Monday airing averaged 206,000 viewers.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
