A new trailer for the seventh season of Dexter showed up just last week, and while there hasn’t been any new footage shown from the new season, it does hint at some big things happening between Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and his sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), especially following the cliffhanger ending last season. Hopefully we’ll get more of an idea of what this season will entail at Comic-Con next month, bot for now, we have some hints from executive producer Sara Colleton who not only details some of the plot points of the forthcoming seventh season, but also confirms that the eighth season will be the last for Dexter. More details after the jump.dexter-season-7-posterFirst of all, Colleton, speaking to TV Guide, has no doubt that the eighth season will be the last for Dexter. This was talked about when Showtime renewed the series for two more seasons last year, but Colleton officially confirms it saying:

“This was definite. We wanted to end it this year, but the network convinced us that it would be best to do it in two years. In some ways, this is a two-season series-ender. We have worked that out and know where it's going to end. Next year will definitely be the last year of Dexter. Absolutely.”

Hopefully that means they don’t have to draw out the series in a way that feels forced for two seasons rather than just ending this season. But after hearing some of the plots from the seventh season, it sounds like there should be some great surprises in store. For those who want to go into the seventh season blind and want to avoid potential spoilers, steer clear from here on out.

Colleton first clears up some facts about the recently cast Yvonne Strahovski’s character. Previously it was said that she’s brought in to help close some old cases. However, the producer says, “She plays this woman named Hannah, who took off from this small rinky-dink Florida town and ran off with this older guy and they went on this wild killing spree. So when they got caught, she turned state's evidence on the boyfriend, he went to jail for life and she started a new life. Years later, she's in her 30s and she will intersect with Dexter. I would say Hannah is a still water that runs very deep and is quite unlike any woman Dexter has ever known.” That sounds a little more interesting.

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Another plot point will have LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) maybe getting closer to Dexter’s dark secret. At some point in the season, LaGuerta will find one of Dexter’s blood slides that he drops at a crime scene. Colleton elaborates:

“The only other time that she had seen this blood slide was in the copy case of the Bay Harbor Butcher. Her dear friend Sergeant Doakes, everyone thought he was the Bay Harbor Butcher, and thought that when he died, the Bay Harbor Butcher died with him. Now, she begins to suspect, ‘Is the Bay Harbor Butcher still alive and how can I set about proving the innocence of my friend Sergeant Doakes?’ That is something that's a silent thing at the start, but it's, again, going to be eventually working its way back to Dexter. It's going to be very interesting to see if she can exonerate him.”

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But the big question is, what will be happening between Dexter and Deb after her discovery at the end of the season last year? Colleton doesn’t reveal too much, but does say their relationship following this revelation will be somewhat rocky:

“Yeah. Obviously this whole season we're going to have great fun playing with every permutation that can be played between Debra and Dexter in their relationship now that this information has come out. She was on her way to the church at the end of the last season because she had come to realize that she not only loved her foster brother Dexter but she is in love with him. So now what does she do? Does she turn him into the police? Is she repulsed by him? Can she continue to love him? Does she feel an odd relief that finally she understands some fundamental part of him that always felt elusive? Dexter was always elusive and Debra always thought it was because of her, and now she knows it wasn't about her, it was about him really protecting her.

But she is the head of the homicide division and so it has to really affect her sense of justice and the whole system. It's a really challenging year for her to juggle. And Dexter, of course, his world is equally rocked. He's never had to deal with these kinds of emotions — regret, guilt, a sense of having let Deb down and also, obviously, the gnawing suspicion that at any time, she could have him arrested.”

Yeah, this season sounds like it’s setting up for the final go round, and I’m glad they’re not going to keep the show going just because the network wants it. It’s a little troubling that what should have been one season is becoming two, but I’m hoping the writers can maintain the quality of the show for a stellar ending for fans. For more of the interview with Collet and more details on the forthcoming season, check out the fill interview at TV Guide.