Billions is an American television drama series created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, that premiered on Showtime on January 17, 2016, and has concluded on October 29, 2023. The series is loosely based on the activities of Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York,[1][2] and his legal battles with hedge fund manager Steve Cohen of S.A.C. Capital Advisors.[3] In Season 2, it also incorporates loosely the cases involving Treasury bond auction market manipulation conduct of Salomon Brothers, including the roles of CEO John Gutfreund and bond trader Paul Mozer, in 1991.
Six seasons of Billions have aired. In February 2022, Showtime renewed the series for a seventh and final season, which premiered on August 13, 2023.
Summary[]
Billions stars Paul Giamatti as ruthless U.S. Attorney Charles "Chuck" Rhoades, Jr., and Damian Lewis as affluent hedge fund tycoon Robert "Bobby" Axelrod, for a look at the lives of New York City’s wealthiest and most corrupt influencers in the overlapping worlds of business and politics.
Billions - Official Trailer - Damian Lewis & Paul Giamatti Showtime Series
BILLIONS, on Showtime.Billions Pilot official trailer.
Cast[]
Main[]
Actor
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Character
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Season
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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| Paul Giamatti | Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr. | |||||||
| Damian Lewis | Robert "Bobby" Axelrod | |||||||
| Maggie Siff | Wendy Rhoades | |||||||
| Malin Åkerman | Lara Axelrod | |||||||
| Toby Leonard Moore | Bryan Connerty | |||||||
| David Costabile | Mike "Wags" Wagner | |||||||
| Condola Rashad | Kate Sacker | |||||||
| Asia Kate Dillon | Taylor Amber Mason | |||||||
| Jeffrey DeMunn | Chuck Rhoades, Sr. | |||||||
| Kelly AuCoin | Dollar" Bill Stern | |||||||
| Corey Stoll | Michael Thomas Aquinius Prince | |||||||
| Daniel Breaker | Scooter Dunbar | |||||||
| Sakina Jaffrey | Daevisha "Dave" Mahar | |||||||
| Toney Goines | Phillip Charyn | |||||||
Recurring[]
- Dan Soder as Dudley Mafee
- Malachi Weir as Lonnie Watley
- Terry Kinney as Hall
- Glenn Fleshler as Orrin Bach
- Stephen Kunken as Ari Spyros
- Nathan Darrow as Mick Danzig
- David Cromer as Donnie Caan
- Ben Shenkman as Ira Schirmer
- Rob Morrow as Adam DeGiulio
- Christopher Paul Richards as Dean Axelrod
- Jack Gore as Gordie Axelrod
- Frank Harts as Dale Christo
- Arthur J. Nascarella as Bruno Capparelo
- Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Raul Gomez
- Sam Gilroy as Michael Dimonda
- Dennis Boutsikaris as Kenneth Malverne
- Jerry O'Connell as Steven Birch
- Christopher Denham as Oliver Dake
- Daniel K. Isaac as Ben Kim
- Will Roland as Winston
- Eva Victor as Rian
- Clancy Brown as Waylon Jeffcoat
- Piper Perabo as Andy Salter
- Rick Hoffman as Dr. Swerdlow
- Louis Cancelmi as Victor Mateo
Episodes[]
- Main article: Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||||
| 1 | 12 | January 17, 2016 | April 10, 2016 | ||
| 2 | 12 | February 19, 2017 | May 7, 2017 | ||
| 3 | 12 | March 25, 2018 | June 10, 2018 | ||
| 4 | 12 | March 17, 2019 | June 9, 2019 | ||
| 5 | 12 | 8 | May 3, 2020 | June 14, 2020 | |
| 5 | September 5, 2021 | October 3, 2021 | |||
| 6 | 12 | January 23, 2022 | April 10, 2022 | ||
| 7 | 12 | August 13, 2023 | October 29, 2023 | ||
Production[]
The series was ordered by Showtime in March 2015 with a 12-episode pick up and premiered on January 17, 2016. On January 26, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 19, 2017.
On April 26, 2018, Showtime renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on March 17, 2019.[4][5]
On May 8, 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on May 3, 2020.[6]
On October 1, 2020, the series was renewed for a sixth season.[7] On February 15, 2022, the series has renewed for a seventh season,[8] then it has confirmed that the series would end after seven seasons and set to premiere on August 11, 2023.[9]
Casting[]
In April 2017 it has announced that Asia Kate Dillon would be a series regular in season 3 to be the first non-binary character. On October 1, 2020, Corey Stoll has promoted series regular as Mike Prince. On February 20, 2022, Sakina Jaffrey has joined the cast as Daevisha "Dave" Mahar.[10]
Reception[]
Billions scored the best series debut performance ever for a Showtime original series with its premiere debut drawing 2.99 million views.[11] Billions has received generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 71%, based on 32 certified reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10 for its first episode. On a review by Entertainment Weekly, the series received a B+. Author Melissa Maerz described the series as "a wildly over-the-top but thoroughly entertaining soap opera, and it works because it follows the same philosophy Bobby does: If you want to succeed, you don’t have to be the smartest one in the room. You just have to be shameless." Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) rated the series with a 8.4/10, based on 2,510 reviews.
References[]
- ↑ Orden, Erica Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s Office Gets Hollywood Treatment in Showtime Series Wall Street Journal. ISSN [[1]]. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ↑ 'Where's your turban?'. Rediff. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ↑ Groden, Claire (February 4, 2016). Inside the Secretive World of Hedge Fund Psychiatrists and Performance Coaches Fortune. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
- ↑ Otterson, Joe (April 26, 2018). 'Billions' Renewed for Season 4 at Showtime Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
- ↑ Petski, Denise (December 19, 2018). 'Billions' Gets Season 4 Premiere Date & First-Look Trailer Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Billions" Renewed for Season 5 By Showtime.
- ↑ "Billions" Renewed At Showtime For Season 6, Corey Stoll Upped To Series Regular.
- ↑ "Billions" Renewed for Season 7 At Showtime.
- ↑ "Billions" to End With Season 7; Showtime Sets Premiere Date.
- ↑ "Billions:" Sakina Jaffrey Joins Showtime Drama as Series Regular.
- ↑ de Moraes, Lisa (January 19, 2016). "‘Billions’ Scores Record Opening For Showtime". Deadline. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
External links[]
- Official Billions Website.
- Billions on Television Wiki
- Billions on Wikipedia