Showtime entertainment president David Nevins told reporters Thursday that he would only do a Dexter spinoff if star Michael C. Hall was at its center.
Four months after the premium cable network's signature drama ended its eight-season run, the executive said discussions for a potential spinoff of the serial killer drama are ongoing but haven't gone anywhere yet.
"We continue to talk about it. If we were to do it, we have to have a very good reason to do it. It has to feel like it's a new show. I'm not interested in doing it if it's just a continuation," Nevins said following his turn on the Television Critics Associaton's winter press tour. "If we were to do it, I would only do it with Michael."
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In April, Nevins said that "all options were on the table" when THR asked if Showtime would explore rumblings about a Dexter spinoff built around Jennifer Carpenter's now dearly departed Debra Morgan. Talks of a potential spinoff also heated up after Nevins inked Dexter showrunner Scott Buck to a two-year development deal with the network.
"We're at the very preliminary stage," Nevins said. "That show is that character … and if I were to do something, I would do Dexter in a new concept and configuration. I want the show to feel different, not just a continuation of the old show."
Continuing the series from where Hall's serial killer with a code concluded would likely draw the ire of fans, who had a very mixed reaction to the way Dexter Morgan's story concluded.
After saying farewell to Deb, the series flashed-forward (twice) and Dexter ultimately sacrificed his relationship with Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski) and his son, Harrison, and faked his own death to start a new life in Oregon as a lumberjack in a bid to protect them from his Dark Passenger.
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Despite an immediate fan backlash, Nevins praised the way the series concluded.
"The fundamental design of where they ended Dexter was really well-conceived," he said. "He had to sacrifice the one person who was closest to him in the world (Deb) and he had to leave. That was where it was headed for a very long time."
"We never discussed the idea of killing [Dexter]," Nevins explained, noting that the character was not kept alive for a potential spinoff. "The people who are really in the center -- Michael, Scott Buck, [EP] Sara Colleton -- no one even brought up the idea. It was never discussed. … It remains to be seen whether they're going to want to do [a spinoff] or whether I'm going to want to do it. They never felt like killing Dexter was the right end."
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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