“Dexter” Ratings Stay Hot, “Ray Donovan” Receives Boost

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.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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