He works in Miami and uses forensics to help solve gruesome crimes. But Horatio Caine, he is most decidedly not.
Showtime has ordered 12 episodes of "Dexter," a show about a forensics expert for the Miami Metro police who moonlights as a killer. But it's okay -- he only kills people who really deserve to die. Former "Six Feet Under" star Michael C. Hall will play the title character.

"'Dexter' is the unusual exploration into the mind of a sociopathic killer -- whom, in spite of his vigilante justice, the audience will find incredibly sympathetic and charismatic," says Showtime Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt. "The power of this show, and the strength of Michael C. Hall's brilliant acting, is what sets it apart from anything else on television."

The show is based on the novel "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. Emmy winner James Manos Jr. ("The Sopranos," "The Shield") wrote the pilot and will executive produce the series with John Goldwiyn and Sara Colleton.
"Dexter" is one of several series Showtime will roll out in the coming months. Also on tap are a TV version of the public radio show "This American Life" and "The Underground," a sketch comedy show from "In Living Color" veteran Damon Wayans.