Imagine that your friendly next-door neighbor is a nice, quiet man who works in the police department, has a wife and kids…and also happens to be a serial killer? Although it’s frightening to believe such things are possible, this is the premise of the extremely popular Showtime series “Dexter.” Michael C. Hall plays the title character, Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter analyst at the Miami Metro Police Department by day.

At night, Dexter moonlights as a serial killer, a self-proclaimed “monster,” who kills only other killers who have evaded justice.  The very likable Dexter adheres to a strict code governing who deserves to die and taught to him by his late father Harry (James Remar), who was also a cop.
In season three, Dexter’s girlfriend Rita finds herself pregnant and tells Dexter she is going to have the baby whether he decides to be involved or not. Dexter, considering Rita’s two kids Cody and Astor as his own already, proposes to Rita and mentally prepares himself to be a father, though a murderous one at that. While monitoring his next victim, a murderous drug dealer named Freebo, Dexter kills another man in self-defense. This man turns out to be Oscar Prado, brother of Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).  While everyone is led to believe that Freebo killed Oscar, Dexter and Miguel strike up an unlikely friendship, playing golf, going for lunch, having couples’ dinners—all foreign things to Dexter. Miguel is Dexter’s first true friend, and he is the only person who knows what Dexter truly is and supports it.

After Dexter teaches Miguel the tricks of the trade, their relationship takes a turn for the worse. Miguel goes rogue and kills an innocent person—an adversarial criminal attorney who has questioned his ethics—by the standards of the code. Dexter knows he must kill Miguel in order to stop him and protect his identity. Although he kills Miguel and frames it as a victim of the infamous “Skinner” criminal on the loose, Dexter is then abducted by the actual “Skinner” the day before his wedding, something Miguel had previously arranged. Dexter manages to kill the “Skinner” and make it to his wedding on time.

Season four of “Dexter” premieres at 9 p.m. on Sunday and is sure to be just as complicated and intriguing as previous seasons. John Lithgow joins the cast as Arthur Mitchell, an inconspicuous, easygoing suburban man, who has been living a double life as one of America’s most deadly serial killers, nicknamed the “Trinity Killer” because of his tendency to kill in threes. FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) will be back in Miami after he hunted the Bay Harbor Butcher in season two and had a brief love affair with Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), Dexter’s younger sister.

Although “Dexter” received no love at the Emmys this year, it was nominated for the category of Outstanding Drama Series. Michael C. Hall was nominated for the second year in a row for best lead actor in a drama, and Jimmy Smits was nominated for best guest appearance as Miguel Prado. It will also be interesting this season as Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, his on-screen sister, were married in December 2008, and season four will mark their first season as a married couple (though it’s creepy to see them play siblings). “Dexter” is a smart series that challenges your moral beliefs and makes you sympathize with a serial killer.
Even if you’re not familiar with the show, tune in Sunday night for the season premiere; it’s sure to be killer.