‘Dexter,’ ‘Billions’ Spinoffs in the Works as Showtime Doubles Down on Franchise Plan

Chris McCarthy, the Paramount Global exec who was handed oversight of Showtime last year, is doubling down on his franchise plans for the premium cable network.

The exec who is credited with growing Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise for the streamer is expanding two of Showtime’s prized dramas — Dexter and Billions — with multiple offshoots in the works, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.

The linear cable network is developing as many as four series connected to the Billions franchise — including Millions and Trillions — from exec producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The Billions co-creators have been in business with an overall deal at Showtime since 2019, and the finance drama now ranks as the cabler’s longest-running scripted original series.

As for Dexter, McCarthy announced Monday that Showtime has gone straight to series on a prequel series — Dexter: Origins — that will tell the origin story of Michael C. Hall’s serial killer drama that first bowed on Showtime in 2006 and was part of a wave of antiheroes that captivated viewers. Showtime additionally is developing a new version of Dexter: New Blood, which will “depict the ongoing emergence of Dexter’s son Harrison.” The cabler also said it is leaning further into the Dexter franchise that will trace the backstories of some of the show’s most iconic characters. This includes John Lithgow’s memorable Trinity Killer. Dexter creator Clyde Phillips, who was behind New Blood and served as showrunner on the first four seasons (including the one that featured Trinity), will oversee the franchise for Showtime.

Showtime revived Dexter with a sequel series, New Blood, that helped repair the show’s legacy after its original finale was widely considered one of the worst in television history. New Blood went on to become a ratings and streaming success for Showtime. Phillips previously told THR that he would drop everything to do a new incarnation following Dexter’s son, Harrison. “Yes, there’s a lot I’d like to explore. I don’t have permission yet from Showtime to explore it. But if they were to call — much like Gary Levine called to do what became New Blood — and say we want to do Harrison, I’d drop everything and say yes in a minute,” the showrunner told THR in January 2022 after the New Blood finale in which (spoiler alert!) Hall’s Dexter was killed by his son. Phillips has been based at Showtime with an overall deal since 2021.

Here’s how Showtime describes Dexter: Origins: The series “will dramatize young Dexter Morgan at the outset of his transition into the avenging serial killer he would become. Set in the Miami that was a hotbed of real serial killers of his time, the show will begin as Dexter graduates college to join Miami Metro, where he meets younger versions of many of the characters we came to know in the original Dexter. And, of course, the show will also focus on Dexter’s family, including a very-much-alive Harry and a very formidable, teenage Deb.”

The second season of New Blood, which ranks as the most watched series in Showtime history, focuses on Dexter’s son, Harrison, who has survived his tumultuous reintroduction to his father and flees to New York City, where he must wrestle with his own violent nature and whether, like his father, he is compelled to kill. Dexter: New Blood will explore the kinds of themes and scenarios seen in the original series but through a new lens.

McCarthy previewed his franchise strategy late last month when he confirmed the long-rumored merger of Showtime with Paramount+. “We have already begun conversations with our production partners about what content makes sense moving forward and which shows have franchise potential,” he said.

The Billions universe has four shows currently in development beyond the flagship series. Billions: Miami is set in the world of private aviation, where the clientele believe the rules of society, government and gravity don’t apply to them, amidst the wealth, nightlife, contraband and the cryptocurrency that pulses through that city. Koppelman and Levien are writing. Billions: London operates in the world of U.K. finance. Millions would feature diverse 30-something financial mogul wannabes doing whatever it takes to make it in Manhattan; and Trillions is a drama based on fictional stories of the richest people in the world.

“We remain fascinated by people whose ambition is boundless and who think the laws of civilization and nature don’t apply to them,” said Koppelman and Levien. “Miami is a vital and vibrant place the super-rich have begun taking over. We’re excited to show everyone what’s really going on down there.”

Showtime will own all of its Dexter and Billions offshoots as McCarthy leans into proven hits and cancels underperforming originals including reboots of American Gigolo and Let the Right One In and yanks more than 20 library titles, among them the first season of Koppelman’s anthology Super Pumped. The effort is part of a larger plan to add scale to Paramount+ as Paramount Global looks to compete with Netflix, Disney+ and the recently merged Warner Bros. Discovery, among other conglomerates.

The ownership tidbit is also compelling given that Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa’s drama Homeland was one of Showtime’s most important programs. That show, however, is owned by Disney’s 20th Television following the Mouse House’s $73 billion deal to buy Fox assets, including its TV studio. Rather than revisiting Homeland and paying a licensing fee, Showtime on Monday announced a straight-to-series order for the similarly themed political thriller The Department, which counts George Clooney as an exec producer and director. The show is based on the popular French drama and will be produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and MTV Entertainment Studios. The latter studio is also behind all of Sheridan’s shows, including the Yellowstone franchise.

“The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” said McCarthy, CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media, in a statement. “Just as Homeland elevated global espionage to new heights, The Department will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats to the nation and the world.” Production is expected to begin this year but a writer/showrunner for the drama has not yet been announced.

Showtime’s scripted roster includes Yellowjackets, the upcoming Emma Stone comedy The Curse and The Chi. It’s unclear if the planned Mr. Ripley series will air on the cabler or be shopped alongside Three Women, the latter of which McCarthy dropped last week. Still on the bubble are I Love That for You, The L Word: Generation Q and the Ziwe variety show.