Michael C. Hall will be slaying as Showtime’s serial killer Dexter for at least another 24 episodes. Yep, in a spectacularly bullish move, the network has resolved their contract stalemate with Hall and renewed the show for two more seasons.

This comes on the back of the news that Dexter has gone from strength to strength in its current sixth series. According to E! Online, the sixth season premiere attracted its highest audience ever, 2.2 million viewers. Which, for a cable network is actually quite a decent figure.

In Showtime’s official statement about the renewal, President of Entertainment David Nevins lauded the group effort that makes the show so successful, particularly Michael C. Hall:

Dexter’s enormous success is a real tribute to the great achievements of its cast, producers, and the powerhouse performance of Michael C. Hall. The series is bigger than it’s ever been in its sixth season, both in terms of audience and its impact on the cultural landscape. Together with Michael, the creative team on the show has a very clear sense of where they intend to take the show over the next two seasons and, as a huge fan, I’m excited to watch the story of Dexter Morgan play out.

But can Dexter survive two more seasons?

Perhaps one of my biggest criticisms of Dexter last year was that we’re not sure how long the series can go on keeping Dexter’s secret from his closest friends. Back then, I was concerned that Dexter couldn’t keep coming within inches of discovery (mostly by his own sister), and that’s still a worry.

And fans seem to be utterly divided on the topic of renewal. Some could see Dexter continuing for years, while others think the show is already creatively bankrupt and should have been shut down before now. Personally, I’d be happy if the next two seasons put a cap on the series, and tied in the key talent, with a view to bringing the series to a close in the dramatic manner that Dexter deserves.

Over to you guys – are you over Dexter already, or are you happy that there’ll be another two years of slicing and dicing of bad guys?