Showtime’s Dexter Set to Kill on Video-Game Consoles

Marc Ecko Entertainment to Develop Video Game Based on Serial-Killer Series

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/4/2008 4:10:00 PM

Showtime is teaming up with Marc Ecko Entertainment to develop a video game based on popular series Dexter.

Marc Ecko Entertainment will adapt the show for home consoles, while Showtime will act as an advisor, ensuring that the game stays true to the source material.

According to Showtime, Dexter’s popularity with young-adult viewers made the jump to the gaming world an obvious choice.

"Dexter is one of the most popular shows on Showtime with a particularly strong fan base among gamers. It’s a very logical jump to create a game with the [video-game and entertainment] Web site IGN.com naming it 2007’s ‘Best Television Program,’" said Len Fogge, executive vice president of marketing, digital media and research at Showtime Networks, in a statement. "We’re confident that Marc Ecko Entertainment’s team has the unique talents to take Dexter to the interactive space in the right way.”

Dexter -- based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay -- has become one of Showtime’s most popular programs. The show follows Miami forensic analyst Dexter Morgan, who lives a double life as a serial killer who only kills other serial killers and people who “deserve it.”

The show was picked up by Showtime parent company CBS to air on the broadcast network due to a dearth of fresh programming caused by the Writers Guild of America strike.

At a Showtime press event in February, entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt said the move to CBS, even edited for content, would give viewers who have never seen the show a chance to take a look, perhaps gaining some subscribers for the pay cable network.

Other TV shows that have made the jump to home video-game consoles include CBS’ CSI and Fox’s The X Files and The Simpsons.