The penultimate episodes of the current seasons of Dexter and Homeland proved powerful with the Nielsens as they both delivered both series’ highest ratings ever.
Serial killer series Dexter delivered 2.6 million viewers at 9 p.m. on Dec. 9, garnering the biggest audience ever for a Showtime original series. Moreover, the installment scored the best total night delivery ever for an original series on the premium network with 3.08 million total viewers, besting the long-held record of the series' season four finale on Dec. 13, 2009 (2.57 million at 9 p.m. and vs. 3.05 million for the night). Sunday’s episode is not only the series’ highest-rated episode in three years, but was also up 25% from the prior week (vs. 2.1 million at 9 p.m., and 2.6 million for the night – a 17% jump). Season-to-date, Dexter’s seventh campaign has averaged 6.1 million total weekly viewers across platforms, its highest rated season ever, and 12% ahead of its prior season through the same time frame.
Homeland netted 2.36 million viewers at 10 p.m., exceeding last week's record-breaking count of 2.2 million by 8%. The total night garnered 2.6 million viewers, surpassing last week’s total of 2.5 million as the best total night delivery ever for the series. Season-to-date, the sophomore run of the domestic terrorist series has averaged 5.8 million total weekly viewers across platforms, a 35% surge over its freshman season.
The Dexter season seven and Homeland season two finales air this Sunday night from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT).
