Showtime entertainment president David Nevins told reporters Thursday that he would only do a Dexter spinoff if star Michael C. Hall was at its center.

Four months after the premium cable network's signature drama ended its eight-season run, the executive said discussions for a potential spinoff of the serial killer drama are ongoing but haven't gone anywhere yet.

"We continue to talk about it. If we were to do it, we have to have a very good reason to do it. It has to feel like it's a new show. I'm not interested in doing it if it's just a continuation," Nevins said following his turn on the Television Critics Association's winter press tour. "If we were to do it, I would only do it with Michael."

Despite an immediate fan backlash, Nevins praised the way the series concluded.

"The fundamental design of where they ended Dexter was really well conceived," he said. "He had to sacrifice the one person who was closest to him in the world, and he had to leave. That was where it was headed for a very long time."

"We never discussed the idea of killing [Dexter]," Nevins explained, noting that the character was not kept alive for a potential spinoff. "The people who are really in the center -- Michael, Scott Buck, [ep] Sara Colleton -- no one even brought up the idea. It was never discussed.… It remains to be seen whether they're going to want to do [a spinoff] or whether I'm going to want to do it. They never felt like killing Dexter was the right end."

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