As part of the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, President of Entertainment David Nevins took some time to talk about current and upcoming shows for the network, and the end game for a few of their long-time series.  During the interview, he talked about how he felt about the creative direction of Homeland for Season 2, whether he’d consider continuing the series without Damian Lewis, how Dexter is progressing, that the contemporary genre thriller The Vatican (from Paul Attanasio and Ridley Scott) will go into production in April, how John Logan will be writing every episode of Penny Dreadful with the hope that Sam Mendes will direct, that it will be a psychological and highly erotic story set in Victorian London, what fans can expect from The Borgias, when Californication might end, the plan for when Episodes will return, what makes Masters of Sex a compelling series, and the epic feel of the multi-episode event documentary Years of Living Dangerously, from James Cameron.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

As part of the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, President of Entertainment David Nevins took some time to talk about the status of a number of their current shows, as well as a couple of their upcoming projects.  During the interview, he confirmed that Season 8 will likely be the last for Dexter, the status of Episodes, the future of The Borgias and Californication, what they see for Homeland, and why they’ve chosen to wrap up The Big C with four one-hour episodes. Nevins also talked about the tone of Masters of Sex, and the development of the Aztec drama Conquest with Ron Howard.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Ron Howard of Imagine TV and Showtime’s David Nevins have teamed up to develop Conquest, a period drama centering on the conflict between Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes and Moctezuma II, the last ruler of the Aztec empire.  Oscar-winner Howard is attached to direct the series, which will be scripted by the Oscar-nominated writer Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries).   Howard and Rivera will also executive produce the project alongside Brian Grazer.  Hit the jump for more on Howard’s passion project. 

Following in the footsteps of House M.D., which just finished their eighth and final season last month, Weeds will be doing the exact same thing this summer. The eighth season which premieres this summer on July 1st at 10/9c will be the last for the popular Showtime series. That will leave Dexter as the longest running show on the cable network, and right now the plan is for that series to finish on its eighth season as well (too bad The Office isn’t taking cues from Showtime). However, it sounds like the show’s creator haven’t exactly decided how to finish Nancy Botwin’s (Mary-Louise Parker) smoky journey. More after the jump.

As part of the network’s TCA Press Tour presentation, President of Entertainment at Showtime, David Nevins, took some time to talk about their popular, long-running drama series Dexter, what he thought of the creative choices for this season, and the relationship between Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and his adopted sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter). Nevins also talked about the status of future seasons of Nurse Jackie and The Borgias, his hopes for their latest comedy, House of Lies, and where this season’s most critically acclaimed new drama, Homeland, will be headed in Season 2. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

While negotiations for a seventh season of Showtime’s smash hit series Dexter came to a stalemate earlier last month, unsurprisingly all parties involved have finally come to an agreement as the network has renewed the show for two more seasons.  The series is the hallmark of Showtime’s original programming, and even though it’s in its sixth season the ratings continue to rise from week to week. While last season was a bit of a letdown following a series-best season four (fueled by a powerhouse performance by John Lithgow), I’ve been pretty happy with the story arcs in the current season. Hit the jump for more, including the likelihood of season eight being the show’s last.

As part of the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, President of Entertainment David Nevins took some time to talk about a growth in subscribers of the network, the direction of returning series, and where he sees series development going in the future. Here are the most interesting points:

• Showtime has added over 2 million subscribers, taking their total accounts to 20.5 million.
• Dexter returns for its sixth season on October 2^nd, as the lead-in to the new drama series. Homeland, about a CIA officer (Claire Danes) who becomes convinced that a recently rescued American POW (Damian Lewis) may be connected to an Al Qaeda plot to be carried out on U.S. soil.
• Shameless, The Borgias and Episodes are all returning for a Season 2, with The Borgias being a massive production in its size and scope.
• The subversively funny comedy House of Lies, starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell, about cutthroat members of a top-tier management consultant firm, will premiere in early 2012.
• Laughing Stock (premiering in early 2012), from producers Steve Carell and David Steinberg, will showcase in-depth, one-on-one interviews with the greatest comic minds of the past four decades, including Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Chris Rock, Larry David, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Judd Apatow, Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Carell, himself.
• They’re working on the script for the adaptation of the comic book 100 Bullets (written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso) and, even though they’re not ready to commit to it yet, it is an important project for the network.
• He is optimistic about the future of Weeds, but United States of Tara was canceled because they felt the show had accomplished what it set out to accomplish.

Hit the jump for more of what he had to say.