Showtime to expand ‘Billions’ & ‘Dexter’ franchises, remakes France’s ‘The Bureau’ with George Clooney

Billions

Showtime in the US has quickly followed up on its recently announced plans to expand some of its biggest dramas into franchises, revealing that numerous spin-offs from Dexter and Billions are in the works.

Four Billions spin-offs are currently in development at Showtime, including Millions, Trillions, Billions: Miami and Billions: London. Meanwhile, Dexter: Origins has received a straight-to-series order, a continuation of 2021’s Dexter: New Blood is in development, and projects based on other characters in the series, such as the Trinity Killer, are being explored.

Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, made the announcements just one week after sharing plans to turn Showtime shows into global franchises, following the integration of Showtime into Paramount+ in the US.

Millions (working title) will follow a diverse cast of thirtysomething financial mogul wannabes doing whatever it takes to make it in Manhattan, while Trillions (working title) is a drama based on fictional stories of the richest people in the world – titans of industry living all over the country but coming into contact and conflict with one another.

Billions: Miami (working title) is set in the world of private aviation, where the clientele believe the rules of society, government and gravity don’t apply to them, amidst the wealth, nightlife, contraband and the cryptocurrency that pulses through that city. Billions showrunners Koppelman and Levien are already in the writing process on this project.

Billions: London (working title), meanwhile, is another iteration set across the pond and operating in the world of UK finance.

All of the projects are being executive produced by Koppelman and Levien, who are currently in production on the seventh season of original series Billions, set in the world of high finance. The duo recently extended their overall deal with Showtime who they will work with on the spin-offs alongside MTV Entertainment Studios.

Dexter: New Blood

Another stab at ‘Dexter’

Dexter: Origins (working title) has been greenlit to series and will be executive produced by Clyde Phillips, who signed an overall deal with Showtime in 2021. It will follow the formative years of serial killer Dexter Morgan, who was played by Michael C Hall in the 2006-2013 Showtime series Dexter and its 2021 revival Dexter: New Blood.

Set in Miami, the show will begin as Dexter graduates college to join Miami Metro, where he meets younger versions of characters from the original show, while the series will also focus on his family, including adoptive father Harry and sister Deb.

Dexter: New Blood, meanwhile, is in development as a new incarnation and continuation of the 2021 revival of the same name, focusing on Dexter’s son Harrison, who survived his tumultuous reintroduction with his father and flees to New York City where he must wrestle with his own violent nature and whether, like his father, he too is compelled to kill.

Showtime is also exploring other characters from the Dexter universe whom the network could develop for potential series, such as an origin for the Trinity Killer, originally played John Lithgow.

“The Dexter saga has been an undeniable creative and popular success for Showtime, both in its original, groundbreaking form and the record-setting Dexter: New Blood,” said McCarthy. “The series is a rich foundation for other shows in the lane of complex, subversive antiheroes that Showtime has always done so brilliantly. Clyde is deep into compelling stories and characters that will satisfy the cravings of our multifaceted audience.”

Le Bureau Des Legendes (aka The Bureau)

Re-opening ‘The Bureau’

Showtime has also placed a straight-to-series order for The Department (working title) to be directed by George Clooney.

The project is based on the French drama Le Bureau Des Legendes, which aired on Canal+ from 2015 to 2020, and centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the ‘Bureau of Legends,’ responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests.

Clooney and Grant Heslov, who are also currently developing a series adaptation of the 2005 fact-based drama feature film Good Night, And Good Luck for AMC and AMC+, will executive produce through their Smokehouse Pictures with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios set to produce. Production will start later this year.

Le Bureau Des Legendes (aka The Bureau) was created by Eric Rochant and is a Canal+ Creation Originale series produced by The Originals Productions and Federation Studios.

“The Department, based on the riveting and brilliant series The Bureau, will follow in the great tradition of Homeland, one of the most successful and brand-defining shows at Showtime,” said Chris McCarthy, president & CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media. “Just as Homeland elevated global espionage to new heights, The Department will take viewers even deeper into a world of intrigue and subterfuge with complicated characters who struggle with their own demons as they fight existential threats to the nation and the world.