TV Bites: Dexter Changes Leadership

· On the heels of Dexter's record-breaking season four finale, not to mention the most gruesome bathtub-full-of-blood scene in television history, the Showtime drama's executive producer/showrunner Clyde Phillips is leaving the series to spend more time with his family. Phillips, who also created Suddenly Susan, will be replaced by 24 co-executive producer Chip Johannessen. [THR]

Betty visits the orthodontist, True Blood tracks down Sam's mom, and more TV Bites after the jump.

· Yesterday morning marked George Stephanopoulos's inaugural episode of Good Morning America as Diane Sawyer's replacement, and the transition did not go smoothly according to the New York Times: "He was welcomed with fanfare by his co-host, Robin Roberts, but it wasn't clear that the two have natural chemistry. Ms. Roberts, who was of a height with Ms. Sawyer, towers over the diminutive Mr. Stephanopoulos; their senses of humor seem equally unaligned." Don't worry George, the Four Musketeers did not unite overnight. Just loosen that collar and start prepping for the anchor meatloaf challenge. [NYT]

· VH1 is expanding its Tough Love franchise with a spin-off called Tough Love: Couples. In the new series, five couples on the verge of becoming engaged will submit to counseling by professional matchmaker Steve Ward and his mother JoAnn. At the end of eight hour-long episodes, the couples will determine whether they want to stay together or split their reality check and go separate ways. [Reuters]

· Ugly Betty will celebrate its move to Wednesday night on Jan. 6 by bringing back Betty's orthodontist, played by Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. If Betty plays her cards right, she could be feasting on leftover holiday tins of popcorn by the end the night. [EW]

· Television can kill you! Just ask the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, who reported that between 1990 and 2007, the most furniture-related deaths were due to falling TV sets. And the number is on the rise, possibly because families have relegated their older, heavier models to "rickety furniture on other rooms." [AP]

· Even short order cooks/drug dealers/gay prostitutes have mothers: True Blood has cast Alfre Woodard (mother of this year's Miss Golden Globe) as the the woman who bore Lafayette. The series also hired J. Smith-Cameron to play Sam's estranged mother. [TV Guide]