It can be argued that Michael C. Hall's lead role on the Showtime series "Dexter" is actually a hero, although the show points out regularly that if his friends and family knew, he'd be in jail immediately. Dexter was only a child when he watched his mother get violently murdered in front of his eyes, and it is implied this led him to detach from reality and probably led to him being a sociopath. Dexter showed signs of being one early on, and his adopted father Harry, a cop, trains him to use his natural violent ways for good. He taught him to be an efficient killer of bad people that manage to buck the system or are running around free. Dexter is given a "code" of conduct by Harry that he refuses to break, and in time he has come to connect with the people around him, even if he fears discovery or that he simply isn't human enough to care about them.

Dexter cares about his foster sister Deb, his now-wife Rita, her two children, and his expected child, so he's grown a lot in the emotional department. This does not stop him from feeling the constant urge to go out and kill, to drug people and murder them before dumping their bodies into the water. He has killed his own brother, his lover, and most recently his only friend. Yet we can't help but root for him and hope he gets away with all of his violent acts. Go figure!