Dexter Heads to Canada on CTV

TORONTO, January 14: The serial-killer drama Dexter, which
recently wrapped its second season on premium cable network Showtime, will roll
out in Canada on CTV, with the first season airing as a simulcast with CBS on
Sundays at 10 p.m. beginning February 17.

In the U.S., it was recently announced that the series is
being repurposed by CBS to help fill its schedule in the midst of the writers
strike.

Dexter is the latest
premium cable series to come to CTV, following the network’s recent acquisition
of AMC’s Mad Men and previous
pick-ups of The Sopranos, The Osbournes and Nip/Tuck. Also on
CTV’s schedule are Medium, Law & Order, Dance War, Terminator:
The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Corner
Gas, Degrassi: The Next
Generation and the upcoming American
Idol (January 15), The Moment of
Truth (January 23), Lost (January 31), Eli Stone (January 31), Lipstick Jungle (February 7), Oprah’s Big Give (March 2) and Dancing with the Stars (March 17).

Dexter, based on the
novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by
Jeff Lindsay, stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated Michael C. Hall (Six
Feet Under) as Dexter Morgan, a likeable
forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police Department who is also a serial
killer. However, Dexter operates with his own moral code, in that he only kills
murderers who can’t otherwise be brought to justice.

“Dexter is a
brilliant, challenging and risky series that was a must-have for CTV,” said
Susanne Boyce, the president of creative, content and channels at CTV. “Not
since Tony Soprano has there been an anti-hero on television that is so
immensely alluring, despite his immorality. The ethical challenge to the viewer
is whether they can like a character who kills in cold blood. It’s a daring
premise—and it works.”

Armando Nunez Jr., the president of CBS Paramount
International Television, commented, “We are thrilled to be able to expose
Dexter to a wider
audience by licensing it to CTV in Canada.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski