Neither the summer premiere nor the buzz around the final season fueled a massive ratings increase, but Showtime’s eighth “Dexter” premiere did manage to continue its streak of gaining more viewers for each season opener.
Sunday’s episode garnered 2.5 million viewers for its initial telecast, which represents a slight gain over last fall’s season seven premiere. Repeat viewership brought the nightly total to 3.2 million.
New series “Ray Donovan,” which received mixed reviews, opened out of “Dexter” to 1.4 million viewers, which represents a record series premiere tally for the premium cable network. With onDemand and re-run viewing included, the “Donovan” debut hit roughly 3 million.
With an anti-hero at its violent center, “Ray Donovan” was tailormade to lead out of “Dexter,” so a solid premiere performance was to be expected. Whether the show can sustain–and ideally grow–its initial audience remains to be seen.