'Dexter' Renewed For Seventh, Eighth Seasons

Some very important people apparently believe Dexter Morgan's work in Miami isn't even remotely close to done yet.

With "Dexter" pulling viewers this season like never before, Comingsoon.net reports that Showtime has officially announced the Michael C. Hall-led drama about a sociopath pulling double-duty as a Miami Police Department forensic blood-spatter analyst and serial-killer of unpunished killers has been picked up for two additional 12-episode seasons.

The current one, the show's sixth, has averaged 5.12 million viewers across every platform from initial broadcast, to On Demand, DVR and network replay viewings.

Production on Season Seven will begin in 2012 in Los Angeles.

"Together with Michael, the creative team on the show has a very clear sense of where they intend to take the show over the next two seasons and as a huge fan, I'm excited to watch the story of Dexter Morgan play out," said Showtime President of Entertainment David Nevins.

The show arguably reached a point long ago of its notoriety eclipsing that of the excellent Jeff Lindsay novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" on which it's based, to the point that it's easy to forget the show is an adaptation at all.

That hasn't come without obstacles overcome along the way. It's easy to forget that Hall not only has survived a 2010 bout with cancer but that he never missed a beat portraying Miami's very own "Bay Harbor Butcher." Despite Hall and co-star/on-screen sister Jennifer Carpenter divorcing that same year after two years of marriage, if critical response has been any indication, the pair's split hasn't impacted the chemistry between Hall as Morgan and Carpenter as his sister Deborah in a way anyone notices.

In the meantime, the show has also been bolstered by more than one stellar foil for Hall's vigilante. Keith Carradine appeared in two seasons as a relentless FBI agent unwittingly hot on Dexter's scent. "L.A. Law" and "NYPD Blue" veteran Jimmy Smits enjoyed a season-long run as an unhinted Miami district attorney named Miguel Prado who briefly comes under Dexter's tutelage after learning of his secret double life.

John Lithgow won a 2009 Emmy and Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the Trinity Killer that Dexter spends a season both hunting himself and being hunted by. Most recently, Julia Stiles and Colin Hanks have both enjoyed recent turns as predators in Dexter's path.

It's not like the regulars have been wanting for accolades, either. The show has been nominated for 19 Prime Time Emmy awards, and has previously won in the Oustanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series (for Michael C. Hall) categories three years running from 2008-2010. It's been nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning two.