Dexter's homicidal ways are coming to the masses.
CBS has confirmed what CEO Leslie Moonves hinted at last month: Showtime hit Dexter is being "repurposed" for CBS, which finds itself short of fresh material as a result of the Writers Guild of America strike.
The first season of Dexter will air on CBS beginning Sunday, February 17, and continue to air for the next 11 Sundays following. The show, which follows a forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer, does have a considerable amount of blood, but that won't be the main thing that gets edited for more family-friendly fare.
"I am very protective of the show and will make sure the small changes are done very seamlessly," Showtime president Robert Greenblatt told The Hollywood Reporter. "The essence of the show is absolutely there; we haven't compromised the character and his moral compass." Instead, the major cuts will focus on language.
While many new eyes on a critically acclaimed show that has a limited audience seems like a good thing, some aren't so sure. Dexter's executive producer Daniel Cerone is a bit concerned as one of the show's writers.
"On one hand you want what you write to be seen by the greatest number of people, and as WGA members on strike, we will get residuals for these airings," Cerone told The Hollywood Reporter. "On the other hand, if, by reprocessing the series the network is using it as strike programming, it may delay any resolution in the (labor dispute)."
The Parents Television Council is unsurprisingly a bit peeved at the idea--edits or not.
"Of course there will be cuts, but thematically the show is very disturbing --making a serial killer a hero--and no editing in the world will make this palatable for families with small children," Parents Television Council Melissa Henson said.
Dexter just completed its second season on Showtime. For more information, check out TV.com's previous coverage.
Comments (38)
umm.. this is the the "parents council". If you don't think its appropriate for your kids to watch it, then DON'T LET THEM.
I want new episodes of this show!!!
I don't see anything wrong with moving Dexter to CBS. I've seen the CBS version and, Yes, you lose like 10% of the impact but the remaining 90% can (easily) stand on its own. Dexter is a great story that survived its transition from book to TV (and yes, the storylines have been modified and a lot of silly crap added for the TV version), I'm certain it will survive network editing as well....
dude...it fulfilled a fantasy? I would go so someone about that
Dexter WAS my favorite show, now that it's on CBS it feels completely weak. It's still original so it may work for some people. It's just... ruined for me. I liked the swearing and nudity and brutal murders, it fulfilled a fantasy for me and I enjoyed it so much, and now it's soft and weak. It's not nearly the powerful show that it was. Goodbye Dexter, you were good.
I think I agree with a lot of other people when I say this is probably a bad idea. Dexter is perfect the way it is. Debra is perfect being the loud and potty mouthed sister. I just don't want to see the essence of what made this show great in the first place be reduced to dub overs going "mother trucker!" It's a sad day in Dexter history.
At least I have a DVD and showtime on demand. So that I can watch the show in which the creators intended it. Violent and dirty!
I have been a Dexter fanatic since day one. We even have our own little fanclub at my job, always talking about the show we all even are reading the books now. When we found out that they were moving Dexter to CBS we were all ticked, how can you edit Dexter? It wont be the same without all the blood, violence, and yes language. If people dont like it then they should tune in somewhere else, CBS probably was not the greatest choice. But as long as they stay true to Dexter, it should be okay, if not then I hope they are ready for alot of angry fans and angry letters.
Debra will probably just turn in the likes of Jack Bauer and never go further then "damn it"...Fact is shows like these belong on networks without restrictions, that's what makes them so good, like them or not, but lots of powerful shows are/were on cable networks, it's not really that you need the swearing the whole time, fact is that i think Debra's *** are annoying, she uses too much, but if you were to remove them altogether then you remove the power and strength from the character, from the show.That was actually 1 of the main reasons why Larry David (Created Seinfeld) wanted Curb Your Enthusiasm on cable, so that if he wanted to swear, that he could, because sometimes it just fits.And that's just the swearing, i think the impact will be quite big, because they will basicly shave the edge off, making the show the same like the rest, just with a twisted storyline.moreless
Are they just going to cut all of Deb's line?
To do this show true justice (not that it would be severely diminished by the editing process as long as one had never seen the uncut version) it needs to be uncut. Two of the most captivating things in this show, imagery and wordplay, would be impacted significantly in my opinion. Though as I mentioned before to those that had never seen the original cut it would still be an amazingly profound and original show. I just think that if this show wants to go down in the history books with the likes of _Pulp Fiction_ and other such shows that were cult classics that graduated to straight-up classics they had better just stick with the whole nine yards and keep the crass language and images that define Dexter, his personality, and this show.moreless
i am torn concerning this decision...on one hand i love dexter so much that i would love for a larger audience to be exposed, however i worry that the "cuts" will alter the true brilliance of the show. also, this show is too intelligent for the masses and so part of me would rather this be a show that one must seek out instead of just flipping through the channels...
I generally don't watch CBS at all, but I would be curious to see the hatchet job they do.
I will be curious to see how much they have left when they cut what they need to. :) The story line & acting (for the most part) is so strong, some cuts won't kill it. I'm just thrilled Dexter lives on!
edited Dexter won't do as good as uncut versions... Dexter is an amazing show and i was looking forward for new episodes.Let's see what's gonna happen now...
SO happy for this altho I agree that DVD will be best way to see and it may be too gruesome for network TV. I don't get Showtime (it's expensive to get all 3 premium channels)but watched most of the first season when available for free on demand.
Hey Showtime...that's why we watch you. I've loved both seasons and will not watch on CBS...cable/satellite has a purpose. No way. Hold if you have to...no regular channels. All my friends (which I've turned on to Dexter) love it and won't settle for a "redo".
For me Dexter is one of the best shows ever, i'm glad that i already watched the uncut version :D
Poor decision on the part of CBS. I am sure if they fished around more, they would find worthy shows to play, other than cutting Dexter to pieces. If you really want to see Dexter, you can rent it at your local video store, uncut, and unedited. I didn't enjoy the show, too gorey for me, but my son did like it.
I've already seen all the episodes, but I'm curious to see how it looks on CBS.
For all of you who don't have Showtime, and are excited about getting to see it on CBS, do yourselves a favor and rent the DVDs instead.
i will watch it on dvd i cant stand edited stuff
Strange decision !?!
Its not just the swearing and some gore...they'd also have to cut out the nudity wouldn't they? I didn't even see any reference to that in the article.
Can't wait to see this, it's been on be 'must see' list for some time. I am just hoping that the editing doesn't take anything away from the show.
Why is it getting edited? Just rate it TV-MA and if someone complains, tell them to use the V-chip or whatever you Americans have in your TV's.I want censorship to stop in my favorite TV shows!
loserboi2222,
I was just thinking the same thing. It's great that people who don't get SHOWTIME will have the chance to see what a great show Dexter really is but I'm sure that many people have either rented it through Netflix or have bought the DVD. For those who haven't, the cuts will take away from the whole expereince. I'll probably watch an episode or two just to see what has been taken out.
poor, poor deb... she won't get to say ANYTHING if they edit focusing on language.
Wow...can't wait to see how they pull this one off.Now "Dead Like Me"...there's a show tailor-made for being turned into a network series.
12916: No one in the article said they were trying to make the show "palatable for families with small children". It said that no amount of editing could do that...
Think of it like The Sopranos on A&E. Yeah we know it's not the original version but it means that more people will be exposed to the show which might get more people to watch the real Showtime version or at least rent or buy the DVDs for the true Dexter experience. I didn't start watching the Sopranos until I saw an episode on A&E because I don't have the premium channels. I'm now watching the final season dvds.
Lots of people watch edited movies on broadcast tv. You know you aren't seeing everything. If you like the edited version it makes you curious to see the whole movie.moreless
I am currently rewatching the whole series, and I'm picking up little things that make more sense now... I think an edited version of Dexter would cut out so many little things that make it the best written show... ever
I'll watch it just to see what they cut out of it...and what they don't.
its not the same when edited :(
Stupid dumb move, good way to ruin an amazing show, personally half the show will to be cut out to make it primetime friendly. The major cuts with the language, they should just cut Debra all together since she swears every second word. Def. get it on DVD!!!! trust
I am beyond amused by the statement that there would be major cuts to make the show "palatable for families with small children". Is that woman for SERIOUS? What parent in their right mind would let their young child watch Dexter?Don't make unnecessary cuts to make a show more palatable for 3 years olds who won't be watching the show.And besides, the language is a necessary part of the show, in that it adds MAJOR realism to it. Just slap a massive "Extreme Adult Content" label on the show and air is as is.
wow... im looking forward to it!! yay!!
Color me excited!
I dont have SHOWTIME will be watching on CBS !!!!
They will have to cut out 20 minutes of each episode just to fit it into a standard network "1 hour" time slot... so it wont just be language that gets cut out. At least more people will get to see it, but I would recommend getting the DVDs because the show will lose a lot of what makes it special on CBS