How CBS Broadcasting A Heavily Edited Version Of Dexter Helped The Series Become A Hit

Although the dark crime drama "Dexter" was already fairly successful when it first premiered 20 years ago, the show pulled a bizarre move in 2008 that turned it into a true cultural phenomenon. On February 17, 2008, the first episode of "Dexter" aired on CBS, not its home channel Showtime. This might sound like it would have been impossible, given how gory "Dexter" is and all the network restrictions on CBS. The Parents Television Council thought the same thing, as they publicly urged CBS not to air such an "indecent" show that "compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer." CBS met the concerned groups halfway: It still aired the show, but it edited out most of the gore and cursing to keep things somewhat family-friendly. The edited show still asked its audience to empathize with a serial killer, but at least there wasn't so much gore.

David Zayas, who played Detective Angel Batista, told Entertainment Weekly that the show's CBS run was a big turning point for the show: "A lot of people were exposed to it that did not have Showtime... but then people started getting Showtime," he said. "After the second season, I was like, 'I think I'm in a hit.'" Showrunner Clyde Phillips echoed Zayas' view, telling EW that the CBS move "put Showtime on the map."

The only reason "Dexter" was ever allowed on CBS was because there was a major dearth of scripted television available on TV at the time. February 2008 was right at the end of the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America. The strike actively harmed the quality of a lot of big shows at the time, and delayed/shortened the seasons of countless others.

In early 2008, CBS was ostensibly desperate to give viewers something while they waited for the TV landscape to return to normal, and "Dexter" — which had already aired its debut season a year and a half earlier — was a great option at the time. It helps that Showtime is a subsidiary of the CBS corporation, so moving the show over was probably easier for them than it'd be for NBC or Fox.

In their press release announcing the broadcasting move, president of CBS Entertainment Nina Tassler emphasized that CBS would be a better home for Dexter than the naysayers thought. "It's a great match with our existing lineup," she said, "affording us the opportunity to promote this critically decorated series in CBS's top-rated crime dramas." Despite the angry parents, Tassler turned out to be correct: The "Dexter" premiere drew in over 8 million viewers — CBS' best performance in the Sunday 10 p.m. time slot in months.