At the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today, Showtime’s president, David Nevins, revealed there’s still a chance for a Dexter spinoff. And that if it happens, it would be about… Dexter.

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Said Nevins, “It’s something we continue to talk about. If we were to do it, we would have to have a very good reason to do it. It would have to feel like it’s a new show. I’m not interested in doing it if it’s just a continuation… There have been some light, ongoing conversations. It hasn’t really gone anywhere yet.”The question up until now had been who a Dexter spinoff could focus on, with many of us guessing Yvonne Strahovski's Hannah McKay. When asked the question today about who a new series would include, Nevins replied, “It would have to involve Michael [C. Hall].” Asked to clarify whether he meant as a producer, Nevins said he meant onscreen, remarking, “I think if we were to do it, I would only do it if it with Michael.”The Dexter finale received a lot of criticism, but Nevins said he felt, “The fundamental design of where they ended Dexter was really well-conceived. He had to sacrifice the one person who was closest to him in the world and he had to leave and that was where it was headed for a very long time.”Dexter executive producer John Goldwyn said that Showtime demanded Dexter survive the end of the series , but Nevins denied that today saying, “Honestly, it was never even discussed, the idea of killing him. The people who were really in the center, which was Michael, Scott Buck, Sara Colleton, it was never even… no one even brought up the idea. It wasn’t discussed.”

Ranking Dexter's Seasons

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As to whether the decision to keep him alive was because of the possibility of a new series, Nevins said, “I don’t know. I’m not sure. And it remains to be seen whether they’re going to want to do it, whether I’m going to want to do it. But they never felt like killing Dexter was the right end.”Nevins said there was no timetable for making a decision on Dexter’s future, calling it “very open-ended.”I noted that it was surprising to hear a Dexter spinoff would be about Dexter himself and whether we should assume that it would be the character in a completely new setting with a new supporting cast. Nevins replied, “We’re at the very preliminary stage. But I think that show is that character and it’s not been done in television. If I were to do something, I would want to do Dexter in a new concept and configuration. I want it to feel different – not just a continuation of the old show.”

IGN's Ideas for a Dexter Spinoff

This revelation about Hall's involvement would make a new Dexter series an oddity as a spinoff focused on the same central character -- not someone from the supporting cast or a member of a true ensemble (like Joey from Friends) -- from the show its spinning off from. A few examples from the past include the All in the Family spinoff Archie Bunker's Place and the Three's Company spinoff Three's a Crowd (which held over John Ritter's Jack Tripper), plus The Golden Palace, which had three of the original four Golden Girls. But it's obviously quite a rarity, especially for a drama series. [Update: Thank you, IGN reader FeloniousMax, for bringing up the epic Baywatch Nights as an example!]