Foxtel is set to air season 7 of Dexter just hours after it premieres in the US.
After promising to fast track certain US shows as part of its express initiative, Dexter fans would have been disappointed to note that the season 7 premiere would not be airing on Showcase until three days after the launch.
TV Tonight is now reporting that this has been stepped up, with the first episode of the new season of Dexter showing at 4.45pm on Monday, 1 October. The US premiere on the Showtime channel is Sunday, 30 September at 9pm PST, which means that Australians will be watching the show just two hours and 45 minutes after it starts airing in the US.
The Showcase website confirmed this new start time, with episode 2 set to be shown the following Monday at the slightly later time of 5.30pm.
Foxtel has pushed its “express” shows quite heavily, in an attempt to reduce piracy of US TV shows by viewers wanting to watch episodes as quickly as possible. In many cases, episodes are airing within a few hours of US showing, but shows such as Grimm will air 36 hours later, while cult comedy Don’t Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 is still 5 days behind.
Many people argue that — in the age of Twitter and Facebook — shows (especially premieres and finales) can be “spoiled” on social media within minutes of airing, with essential plot points or cliff-hanger endings being revealed before Australians have had a chance to watch the show.