season six has a 38 percent approval rating with a score of 6.1 out of 10 and the consensus: "Heavy-handed symbolism, an unimpressive villain, and a redundant arc for America's favorite serial killer all conspire to make Dexters sixth season its worst yet"; season seven has an 82 percent approval rating with a score of 7.6 out of 10 and the consensus: "Season seven represents a return to form for Dexter, characterized by a riveting storyline and a willingness to take some risks"; and season eight has a 35 percent approval rating, a score of 5.4 out of 10, and the final consensus: "The darkly dreaming Dexter lays to rest once and for all in a bitterly disappointing final season that is so hesitant to punish its anti-hero for his misdeeds, it opts to punish its audience instead." Popular reception The season-three finale, on December 14, 2008, was watched by 1.51million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings for any of its original series since 2004, when Nielsen started including original shows on premium channels in its ratings. The season-four finale aired on December 13, 2009, and was watched by 2.6million viewers. It broke records for all of Showtime's original series and was their highest-rated telecast in over a decade. The season-five finale was watched by a slightly smaller number of people2.5million. The show was declared the ninth-highest rated show for the first ten years of IMDb.com Pro (20022012). The seventh season as a whole was the highest rated season of Dexter, watched by 6.1million total weekly viewers across all platforms. Awards and nominations Dexter was nominated for 24 Primetime Emmy Awards, including in the category of Outstanding Drama Series four times in a row, from 2008 to 2011, and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (for Hall) five times in a row, from 2008 to 2012. It has also been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards (winning two), seven Screen Actors Guild Awards and received a Peabody Award in 2007. On December 14, 2006, Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award at the 64th Golden Globe Awards. In 2008, the show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season (Showtime's first-ever drama to be nominated for the award), and its star for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It won neither, losing to Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston. In 2010,