14 DAY TRIAL // The season 4 finale of “Dexter,” the killer series airing on Showtime and currently its strongest show in the past 4 years, did not bring about only a change in terms of cast, as executive producer Clyde Phillips has also taken his leave, The Hollywood Reporter informs. Phillips, the man basically responsible for making “Dexter” the hit it is now, is taking some time apart.
A replacement for him has already been found in the person of “24” co-executive producer Chip Johannessen, the same media outlet informs. The strange thing is that no one saw Phillips’ departure coming – not even him, as he admits the decision was a very tough one to make because he had spent so much time with the show he could not see it on TV without him. Yet family comes above everything else.
“Talk about leaving on a high note. The ratings record-breaking ‘Dexter’ finale Sunday, which capped the Showtime drama’s highest-rated season, also marked the last episode for the show’s executive producer / showrunner Clyde Phillips, who is departing the series. ‘24’ co-executive producer Chip Johannessen has been tapped to succeed Phillips at the helm of ‘Dexter,’ which is in the middle of a two-season pickup,” THR says.
“I had complicated feelings about it. I lived with the people on the show for four years that were the high point of my career. But I was missing out on my family. I need to be part of my own life, immerse into my own life,” Phillips mentions in a statement. Showtime Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt confirmed the departure, saying, “Clyde Phillips has made an enormous contribution to the phenomenal success of ‘Dexter’ for the past four years, but we know he needs to spend more time with his family on the East Coast than he spends with the Dexter family in LA.”
It would seem that Phillips’ last contribution to “Dexter” would be, in a way, the interview he recently gave to Michael Ausiello, explaining why he and the writers had come to the conclusion to kill off Dexter’s wife Rita in the finale, much to the surprise of most fans. It is not known yet how Phillips’ departure will influence the show or whether Johannessen will want to take it into a different direction, but make sure you keep an eye on this space for more details.