"Dexter" drew an astounding 1.8 million viewers.

Deadline reports that the fifth season premiere of Showtime's flagship drama "Dexter" drew an astounding 1.8 million viewers, the series' highest-rated debut to date and Showtime's highest-rated original series premiere in 15 years! It was up 16% from last year's opener but down from the show's record-setting finale last season, which drew 2.6 million viewers. Including a rerun at 11 PM, the Dexter premiere last night was watched by a total of 2.3 million viewers, 22% up from last year.