Dexter: Seasons 1-5

Dexter is an American television drama series that centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a blood spatter-pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, who moonlights as a serial killer. The show debuted on October 1, 2006 on Showtime and the fifth season began airing on September 26, 2010. Set in Miami, the show's first season was loosely based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, the first of his series of Dexter novels. Subsequent seasons have evolved independently of Lindsay's works. It was adapted for television by screenwriter James Manos, Jr., who wrote the pilot episode. Dexter structures his killing around "The Code of Harry", a body of ethics and procedures devised by his adoptive father Harry (who was a Miami cop) to make sure Dexter never gets caught and ensure that Dexter kills only other killers. Harry also trained Dexter in how to interact convincingly with other people, despite being a sociopath, since the murder of his biological mother, Laura Moser, did in fact turn Dexter into a serial killer. As an adult, Dexter has largely escaped suspicion (with some exceptions) by being genial and generous and maintaining generally superficial relationships. However, his attachment to his sister Deb, his significant other Rita, his stepchildren and (later) his biological son have all complicated his duplicitous lifestyle while making him question his need to kill.