Billions (TV series) - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Billions 2016 official trailer paul giamatti damian lewis showtime series

Billions is an American television drama series created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis premiering on Showtime. The series is loosely based on the activities of crusading federal prosecutor of financial crimes Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his legal battles with hedge fund manager Steve Cohen of SAC Capital. The second season premiered on February 19, 2017.

Main cast

Damian Lewis as Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, an ambitious hedge fund manager who came from humble beginnings. He was one of the survivors of the hedge fund during the September 11 attacks, and thus pays the college tuitions of his former colleagues' children. He is extremely charitable and generous in public, but uses insider trading and bribery to grow his firm’s enormous wealth.

Paul Giamatti as Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Rhoades is ruthless, and has a particular distaste for wealthy criminals who try to buy their way out of justice. Despite his significant power as U.S. Attorney, Rhoades struggles not to be overshadowed both by his wealthier wife, Wendy, and by his well-connected and very rich father. In private, he and his wife engage in BDSM role play, with Chuck as Wendy's "slave".

Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades, M.D, psychiatrist, in-house performance coach at Axe Capital and wife of Chuck Rhoades. She is self-possessed, motivated and extremely successful. She has a strong relationship with Axelrod, her boss, for whom she has been working for more than 15 years.

Malin Åkerman as Lara Axelrod, wife of Bobby Axelrod and a former nurse. She is from a lower-class upbringing, but has left her former self behind. She is devoted to her husband and their children. Her brother Dean was a firefighter who died during the 9/11 attacks.

Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty, Rhoades' point man.

David Costabile as Mike "Wags" Wagner, the right-hand man for Axelrod and COO of Axe Capital.

Condola Rashād as Kate Sacker, an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Recurring cast

Jeffrey DeMunn as Charles Rhoades Sr., Chuck's father, a very wealthy and well connected city power player who often uses his position to meddle in his son's affairs.

Terry Kinney as Hall, a fixer on Axelrod's payroll.

Jerry O'Connell as Steven Birch

Dennis Boutsikaris as Kenneth Malverne

Rob Morrow as Adam DeGiulio

Susan Misner as Agent Terri McCue

Dan Soder as Maffee

Stephen Kunken as Ari Spyros

Kelly AuCoin as 'Dollar' Bill Stearn

Nathan Darrow as Mick Danzig

Sam Gilroy as Michael Dimonda, Wall Street Journal reporter

Season 1 (2016)

Showtime released the pilot episode online on January 1, 2016, and the second episode on January 17, 2016.

Reception

Billions has received generally positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a rating of 73%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite a lack of likable characters, Billions' soapy melodrama and larger-than-life canvas offer plenty of repeat viewing potential." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 69 out of 100, based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Development

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, scheduled to premiere on February 19, 2017.

Broadcast

The first episode was made available on January 1, 2016, via video on demand services in the U.S. and via CraveTV in Canada. It premiered on Stan in Australia on January 27, 2016 and in Canada on The Movie Network on January 17, 2016, simultaneous with the American broadcast. In the UK and Ireland the series was shown on Sky Atlantic.

References

Billions (TV series) Wikipedia

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