Showtime chief talks 'Homeland' and possible 'Dexter' return

The third-season finale of "Homeland," Showtime's popular and controversial series about a troubled CIA agent played by Claire Danes, was one of the most debated episodes of last year, with the death of POW turned possible terrorist Nicholas Brody.

When the series returns for its fourth season, it will have "a big reset," said Showtime's President of Entertainment David Nevins.

"This is a show fundamentally about a field operative," said Nevins, noting that the show has not often shown Danes' character, Carrie Mathison, working as a spy. "The plan now of the new season is to show her on the ground in the capital of a foreign country, doing her job ... it's going to be different."

Nevins also said that the door has not entirely closed on "Dexter," the drama about a forensics investigator who moonlighted as a serial killer. The series starring Michael C. Hall concluded last year with its eighth season, with Dexter Morgan still alive, though not so well.

"There has been some preliminary talks, very early, but nothing has been decided," Nevins said. "If it were to return, it would have to be a new concept, not a continuation. But right now, it's very open-ended."

The premium network has ordered two new series that will soon join the prime time slate. "The Affair" stars Dominic West ("The Wire"), Ruth Wilson ("Luther"), Maura Tierney ("ER") and Joshua Jackson ("Fringe"). It is a drama that revolves around two married couples and the affair that disrupts them.

Also on tap is  "Happyish" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as the creative director of an advertising agency who finds he's increasingly irrelevant in the age of social media.