Former “NYPD Blue” star Jimmy Smits is joining the cast of Showtime’s crime drama series “Dexter,” reports Variety.

Smits will portray Miguel Prado, an ambitious assistant district attorney who comes from a high profile and powerful Miami family. He joins star Michael C. Hall, of “Six Feet Under” fame, who portrays a likeable man sublimating his serial killer drive (or at least trying to) with a job as a blood pattern analyst.

The Miami Police Dept. forensics expert only kills criminals who cannot be caught otherwise in the justice system.

Smits will appear in ten of the 12 episodes approved for the show’s third season. The actor most recently starred in the short-lived CBS drama “Cane,” in which he coincidentally played a member of another high profile and powerful Miami family. Smits was also executive producer of the project.

“Dexter” premiered in October 2006 on the premium cable network Showtime and returns this fall for a third season. Based on the novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay, the show has managed a successful transition from paper to television screen, with critical praise and award nominations.

Hall has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actor in a Television Drama Series for playing Dexter.

The cast includes Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Jaime Murray and others.

Smits is no stranger to critical appreciation either. His long-running roles on “LA Law” and “NYPD Blue” have earned him an Emmy Award for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series, respectively.

Besides his role in “Cane,” his recent projects also include “The West Wing.”