'Dexter' breaks all Showtime records: Will it change the show's endgame?

Showtime is on fire this fall.

Dexter and Homeland have once again hit new series-high ratings.

Dex delivered 2.6 million viewers — the biggest audience ever for a Showtime original series. Normally such records are broken during season finales or premieres, not during penultimate episodes like this one. Homeland also keeps closing the gap with Dexter, now up to 2.4 million viewers — up 9 percent from last week.

Including their Sunday repeats, Dexter had 3.1 million and Homeland had 2.6 million for the night. Both shows have their season finales next week. Chances are strong Showtime will enjoy another round of happy headlines.

Question: Showtime’s previously stated non-definitive rough-draft plan has been to end Dexter next season. The rising popularity of Homeland makes this easier to follow through on, because now the network has a successful fall replacement hit. But will Showtime really pull the trigger on Dexter when its numbers keep shattering records? Everybody involved with the long-time serial killer drama makes it sound like the only factor for deciding when to conclude the show is its creative storyline — which, let’s face it, would probably benefit from some closure in the near future. But ratings momentum like this, when coupled with a real choice on the table, is unavoidably influential too.

It will be easier to have an opinion on this topic after next week’s finale. Until then, what do you think? How much longer should Showtime air Dexter?