Showtime's Rebrand with Paramount to Begin with Spinoffs of Beloved Franchises 'Billions' & 'Dexter'

by Darian Scalamoni

    Despite Showtime having many major television programs in their history, it seems that ViacomCBS is finally ready to combine their streaming services and networks into one major player across the content space. With news coming out recently that Showtime would be merging as a part of Paramount+, it appears the streamer is looking to create spinoffs from the popular franchises established on the premium network over the years, namely Dexter and Billions. 

    A report that began from the Wall Street Journal outlined that Paramount plans to expand the established IP by creating a total of 6(!) new series total revolving around the worlds set forth originally by Dexter and Billions. The latter, which stars Damien Lewis, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Siff, Corey Stoll, David Costable and Asia Kate Dillion, will get four of those spinoff series. 

    The first two take inspiration from the titles of the flagship show. Millions will follow "diverse, thirtysomething financial wannabes" doing whatever it takes to last in Manhattan, while Trillions will chronicle fictional stories that showcase conflict between the richest people in the world and titans of their industry living all over the world. Additionally, Billions: Miami will be set in the world of private aviation and Billions: London operates in the world of finance in the United Kingdom.

    Dexter had been notorious for having one of the biggest disappointing final seasons, however, series showrunner Clyde Phillips created a limited series finale for Showtime in Dexter: New Blood. The series was one of the biggest in the premium network's history, however, Phillips will now be working to bring Dexter: Origins to Paramount+. Dexter: Origins will follow college-aged Dexter and Deb in their beginning years of working for Miami Metro where they'll meet younger versions of the characters that viewers came to know throughout Dexter. In addition to that series, there are multiple reports that the other series in active development would be a prequel revolving around The Trinity Killer, who was originally portrayed by John Lithgow in the Showtime series. Lithgow won an Emmy Award for his role in the show. While there have been rumors of Dexter: New Blood continuing from the perspective of Dexter's son Harrison, we can confirm that series hasn't been given a green light towards a series renewal.

    What do you think of the spinoff series planned for both Billions and Dexter? Which shows are you most excited about?