Dexter Boss Dishes on Two-Season Pickup

Showtime renews hit drama series for two more seasons

Yo, bad guys, look out: Dexter Morgan isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Showtime has just confirmed that America's favorite serial killer (who hunts killers) will be sticking around for not one, but two more 12-episode seasons, causing the fans in our office to immediately bow down and worship our Showtime shrine.

To celebrate (and pry), I just chatted up Dexter boss Clyde Phillips, who was deep in the trenches of the edit bay cutting together one of the final episodes of the current third season. Here's what he tells me...

"It's amazing," Phillips says of the pickup. "I just got the news this morning. What's great is that Showtime doesn't usually pick up shows early in the season, and we've only aired four episodes, so I think it shows great faith in what we're doing. And to pick us up for two years is really a sign of affirmation for us."

Speaking of digging the direction, you fans will be happy to hear that Phillips and his partners John Goldwyn and Sarah Colleton are just as blown away by Jimmy Smits' performance so far this season. "I have to tell you, when Jimmy and Michael do a scene," says Phillips, "we all go down and watch just because it's like watching two amazing actors on a stage. As far as we're concerned, when we're sitting in the editing room, those guys are winning Emmys everyday. "

Does that mean Smits will be sticking around beyond the third season? "We only have a deal with him at the moment for this season," Clyde says. "We just got the pickup news this morning, so now we can start planning what to do for the next two seasons."

(For the record, I put in a plea for Jimmy to stay.)

Phillips says today's news is especially gratifying because, truth told, he wasn't sure how this season would be received. "I remember at Comic-Con, you were asking about this season and...We were concerned," he says. "We were concerned because we were creating the show this year out of a whole cloth, whereas the first two years we had Jeff Lindsay's book; we had Sarah Colleton who made this great pilot. We had Dexter in danger, and is he going to get caught...bodies coming up, his brother the Ice Truck Killer, all of that. This year, we didn't have any of that. So were really proud that we were able to put together a well thought out, well nuanced and exciting storyline for this year."

Now airing its third season, Dexter remains Showtime's highest-rated drama series, averaging more than 3 million viewers.

When reached at home for comment regarding the pickup news, Dexter's sister, Deb Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), exclaimed, "F--k yeah!"

Feel free to second that emotion down below...