Renewals and Cancellations: A Surprise for Both 'Dexter: Original Sin' and 'The Institute'

There were a couple of interesting moves today under the category of renewals and cancellations. First off, MGM+—home of From and, until The Institute, that’s kind of it—has renewed the latter for a second season. This is mostly a surprise because The Institute is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, it’s hewed closely to King’s storyline, and King didn’t write a sequel. Granted, the events of the novel do leave room for future installments, so it’s not that unusual. TV shows continue beyond their source material all the time; it’s just that they don’t usually do so with Stephen King novels.

Elsewhere, Showtime renewed the Dexter prequel Original Sin a few months ago. It has now reversed that decision. Original Sin will not return. The new powers-that-be at Paramount/Skydance took a second look at their programming and ultimately decided to scrap Original Sin in favor of focusing on Dexter: Resurrection. A writers’ room is being assembled for the latter, though it hasn’t officially been renewed. The ratings and reviews, however, certainly provide plenty of reason to keep it going.

That said, it won’t be much longer before Showtime—at least as a standalone network—likely ceases to exist. It’s now down to just a handful of series: Dexter, Yellowjackets, The Agency, and The Chi. Most of them are already long in the tooth, and I don’t think The Agency was a breakout hit. I do wonder, though, whether the planned Billions spin-offs are still in development or if Skydance will eventually just let Showtime fade away through attrition.