‘Dexter’ season 8 will be its last, says Les Moonves

While we have yet to hear anything definitive from Showtime or its president David Nevins on the future of “Dexter” beyond season 8, his own boss may have already cemented the series’ future in stone. While speaking on a recent conference call per Broadcasting & Cable, CBS Corp. President and CEO Les Moonves stated in the midst of a discussion about business, ratings, and the future of advertising that “Dexter” season 8 would be the show’s “last” season.

This announcement comes after a pretty spirited debate, and also questions from fans and even seemingly from Showtime itself about whether or not it would be so. What’s the benefit of keeping “Dexter” around for a season 9? It’s simple: insurance. The network is launching two new series this year in “Ray Donovan” and “Masters of Sex,” and if for whatever reason they fail to pan out, you may want an established hit. Plus, “Dexter” broke ratings records last fall in what was really a return to form for a show that suffered mightily through much of season 6.

Even despite all of the speculation about a possible season 9, though, the general feeling was always like the show was going to end this year. It would take contract negotiations across the board to extend the show beyond this year, and while there were at one point rumors that season 8 would be extended to 16 episodes (which would bring the show to 100 and give it a little more time to wrap things up), they were denied in a post on Twitter by the show’s executive story editor Scott Reynolds months ago.

If Moonves is in the know here (and we’re assuming that he is given his position), do you think it is the right move for “Dexter” to end now? If you want to check out some new Twitter photos from the show’s set, you can do so over here.

Photo: Showtime