What is the best written TV show of all time?  Well, according to the Writers Guild of America the answer is David Chase’s HBO drama series The Sopranos.  Members of the WGA took part in an online voting survey in order to determine a ranked list of the best written TV series in history, and Chase’s brilliant The Sopranos topped the list of 101 shows, followed by Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H to round out the top five.  It’s tough to argue with The Sopranos taking the top honors, as the show is largely responsible for kicking off the new “Golden Age” of television that we’re currently living through and made for a markedly different kind of television viewing experiences than audiences were used to.

The complete list is filled with shows both new and old, with Mad Men, The Wire, and The West Wing taking the number 7, 9, and 10 spots, respectively, and comedies like Arrested Development, Friends, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart cracking the Top 25.  Hit the jump to read the full list and weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section.

Showtime has released a full trailer for the upcoming eighth and final season of the drama series Dexter.  The trailer shows how the events of last season’s finale will reverberate throughout this new batch of episodes, and we’re also introduced to a new character that could finally spell the end for Michael C. Hall’s Dexter and his secret-keeping.  There are some promising bits to be found in this new trailer, but I’m a little apprehensive about how Jennifer Carpenter’s Deb is handled.  It looks like Deb’s arc could get really repeptetive really quickly, not to mention being a tad grating.  Nevertheless, I’m interested to see how the producers pave the wave for the conclusion of the long-running series.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, which includes spoilers for season (obviously).  Season eight of Dexter premieres on Showtime Sunday, June 30th at 9pm ET/PT.

Ray Stevenson is a great actor.  So, when I heard that he would be playing the villain on Season 7 of the Showtime drama series Dexter, I was very intrigued, and he definitely didn’t disappoint.  As Isaak Sirko, the ruthless leader of the Koshka Brotherhood, Stevenson gave a complex and layered performance of a character where there was certainly more than meets the eye.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, actor Ray Stevenson talked about how he came to be a part of Dexter, how he wished his character could have gotten Dexter (Michael C. Hall) on a kill table, that he loved working with such a great cast and crew, what it was like to work on such a secretive show, and just how much more villainous a stone cold killer can get when you break his heart.  He also talked about being a part of the Marvel universe as Volstagg in the Thor films and the challenges of wearing such an extensive fat suit, as well as what appealed to him about Divergent, in which he’s playing Marcus.  Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

Here’s a look at this week’s new Blu-ray releases:

• Cloud Atlas (Blu-ray/DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy Combo Pack) – $22.99 (36% off)
• Dexter: The Seventh Season [Blu-ray] – $29.99 (55% off)
• Texas Chainsaw [3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet]- $19.99 (50% off)
• 3:10 to Yuma (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] – $27.86 (30% off)
• Crimewave (BluRay/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] – $19.99 (26% off)
• Back to 1942 [Blu-ray] – $14.99 (50% off)

It’s officially official, folks: Dexter has run its course.  While producers of the wildly popular Showtime series had previously stated that they began season seven with the intention that the show would come to an end at the conclusion of season eight, the network had yet to publicly confirm an end date.  Now Showtime has confirmed that the upcoming eighth season of Dexter will in fact be its last.  The Michael C. Hall-fronted series continues to be a ratings draw for the pay cable network, but its quality has been a bit of a roller coaster over the past few seasons.

The first teaser trailer for season eight hinted at the titular character hitting a breaking point this year, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of endgame the producers have in mind given the events that transpired last season.  Yvonne Strahovski, who appeared in a multi-episode arc last year, is confirmed to be returning for this final season, so might Dex get a semi-happy ending after all?  We’ll find out for sure this summer when season eight of Dexter premieres on Sunday, June 30th.  Hit the jump to watch a sneak peek clip from the final season.

Showtime has unveiled the first teaser trailer for the upcoming eighth season of the drama series Dexter, and things don’t appear to be very calm in the Dexter universe.  The teaser doesn’t show any actual footage from the season (as is the case with most TV teasers), but we do get a rather ominous voiceover from Michael C. Hall’s title character warning viewers that he’s starting to lose control of his so-called Dark Passenger.  There’s been no official announcement that this is the final season of the popular serial killer show yet, but going into season seven the producers were operating under the assumption that they were starting an end-of-series arc that would conclude at the close of season eight.  Dexter has definitely had its ups and downs over the years, but it should be interesting to see what kind of endgame is set up in the season eight premiere.

Hit the jump to watch the teaser trailer.  Dexter returns on Sunday, June 30th on Showtime.

As part of the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, President of Entertainment David Nevins took some time to talk about current and upcoming shows for the network, and the end game for a few of their long-time series.  During the interview, he talked about how he felt about the creative direction of Homeland for Season 2, whether he’d consider continuing the series without Damian Lewis, how Dexter is progressing, that the contemporary genre thriller The Vatican (from Paul Attanasio and Ridley Scott) will go into production in April, how John Logan will be writing every episode of Penny Dreadful with the hope that Sam Mendes will direct, that it will be a psychological and highly erotic story set in Victorian London, what fans can expect from The Borgias, when Californication might end, the plan for when Episodes will return, what makes Masters of Sex a compelling series, and the epic feel of the multi-episode event documentary Years of Living Dangerously, from James Cameron.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Showtime has announced the premiere dates for its 2013 original series.  Here’s a brief look at the schedule:

• Shameless – Season three premieres January 13th.
• Californication – Season six premieres January 13th.
• Inside Comedy – Season two premieres February 11th.
• Nurse Jackie – Season five premieres April 14th.
• The Borgias – Season three premieres April 14th.
• The Big C – The final season premieres April 29th.
• Dexter – Season eight premieres June 30th.
• Ray Donovan – Series premiere June 30th.
• Homeland – Season three premieres September 29th.
• Masters of Sex – Series premiere September 29th.

Hit the jump for more details on all of the aforementioned series.

Monday’s TV ratings are in along with the cable ratings for Sunday’s programming.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• CBS’ veteran series How I Met Your Mother saw a rise, hitting a 3.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and 9 million viewers.  That’s up 6% from last week’s 3.1 rating.
• 2 Broke Girls was once again the highest rated program of the night, garnering a 4.0 rating and 11.8 million viewers and a 3.9 rating and 11.5 million viewers for back-to-back new episodes.  That’s up over last week’s 3.5 rating in the demo.
• Over at Showtime, the penultimate episode of Dexter‘s seventh season broke literally every Showtime record in existence, as the installment drew 2.6 million total viewers.
• Critical favorite Homeland also made records of its own, as the Showtime series’ penultimate episode of its second season was up 8 percent over last week’s series-high, netting another all-time high of 2.36 million viewers.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Monday, December 10th, including 90210, Hawaii Five-O, and more.

In lieu of one massive TV ratings article for the week, we’re going to start bringing you daily updates on the goings-on in the TV world.  We’ll report ratings estimates the day after shows air, and today we’ve got the numbers for Sunday night’s programming.  Briefly:

• Showtime had a great night as Dexter scored its highest-rated season opener ever with 2.4 million viewers for its season seven premiere.
• Coming off a near-sweep at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Homeland was up 60% for its second season premiere with 1.73 million viewers.
• ABC’s Once Upon a Time returned incredibly strong with 11 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the 18-34 demographic.
• Also on ABC, the series premiere of the “haunted hotel” drama 666 Park Avenue couldn’t pull in big numbers, as the Terry O’Quinn-fronted show netted a 2.2 rating for 7 million viewers.
• Hot on the heels of the news that creator Seth MacFarlane will be hosting this year’s Oscars, the season premiere of Fox’s Family Guy was down 20% from last year’s season opener with a 3.3 rating and 6.5 million viewers.

Hit the jump for all of Sunday’s ratings including Revenge, American Dad, The Simpsons, The Mentalist, and more.

Showtime’s Dexter returns later this month, and fans are understandably eager to see the fallout from the events of the season six finale.  A new behind-the-scenes featurette has landed online that features some tantalizing clips from season seven as well as interviews with castmembers like Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter talking about what to expect when the show returns.  I won’t get into specifics for fear of spoiling those that haven’t caught up, but fans of the series will definitely find this featurette quite interesting.

Hit the jump to watch the video.  Dexter season seven premieres on Showtime on Sunday, September 30th.

Every previous season of Showtime’s Dexter has been positively packed with tension and season seven is promising to continue that trend.  For those of you who haven’t caught up with the show, we’ll save the spoilers until after the jump.  Let’s just say that Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was in a tight spot at the end of season six.  While this happens nearly every season, the current predicament hits pretty close to home.  Unfortunately, the new trailer is super spoilery, so only go ahead and hit the jump if that doesn’t bother you.  Dexter, also starring Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, C.S. Lee and show newcomers Yvonne Strahovski, Ray Stevenson and Jason Gedrick, returns Sunday, September 30th at 9PM on Showtime.  Hit the jump to see the bloody new trailer.

Actress Yvonne Strahovski joins Season 7 of the Showtime drama series Dexter, premiering on September 30^th, playing the mysterious Hannah McKay.  A woman with a dark part and secrets of her own, she meets Dexter (Michael C. Hall) because she’s helping the Miami Police Department on an old case.

While at the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, Collider (along with one other outlet) was given the opportunity to participate in an interview with the ultra-charming Aussie about her transition from the more light-hearted Chuck to the darker and sexier material on Dexter, the nerve-wracking experience of being a guest on someone else’s show, watching all six seasons in three weeks prior to her starting work, and how badly she wants to get to say the F-word on camera.  She also talked about her work in the upcoming features Guilt Trip (with Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand) and I, Frankenstein (with Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy), her favorite memory of her time on Chuck, and what she learned from the five years she spent in her first lead role on an American TV show.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

When we last left off with Showtime’s hit drama series Dexter, the titular serial killer was caught in a rather precarious position.  Though season six as a whole left much to be desired, the cliffhanger hinted that producers were taking the show in an exciting direction for season seven.  The upcoming season may or may not be the second to last installment of new episodes for the series (producers are keen on ending the series after season eight, but Showtime is hoping they’ll stretch things out to nine), so fans are hoping for some major developments in the new season.  The first poster and a batch of new images from season seven have been released, with the tagline on the poster offering a tantalizing clue as to where things may be headed.  Though a certain romantic subplot has me wary about how the story might play out, I’m hopeful that producers can bring the long-running series to a strong conclusion.

Hit the jump to take a look at the poster and images, which give us our first look at new cast members Yvonne Strahovski, Ray Stevenson, and Jason Gedrick.  Dexter season 7 premieres on Sunday, September 30th at 9pm EST on Showtime.

At this year’s Saturn Awards, I was able to speak with James Remar on the red carpet before the show.   For fans of Dexter, we talked about the upcoming seventh season, what episode they’re filming right now, and his feelings on the show coming to an end.  In addition, with Remar playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s bodyguard in Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, we talked about what it was like to work for QT, what they did off set, the films Tarantino showed on the weekends, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.