Billions

Plot

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) receives a tip that hedge fund magnate Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Damian Lewis) has traded on insider information. Axelrod's inner circle consists of Rhoades' wife, performance coach Wendy (Maggie Siff), and Michael "Wags" Wagner (David Costabile). Chuck begins an investigation into the firm and arrests one of Axelrod's top confidantes, Dollar Bill (Kelly AuCoin). Wendy attempts to negotiate an armistice between Chuck and Axelrod via a settlement; though both parties agree to the terms, Chuck sabotages the deal at the last moment to spite Axelrod. In an attempt to appease Wendy, Chuck recuses himself from the investigation and gives the case to his point man Bryan Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore) – though Chuck insists on being informed as to the investigation's progress. Connerty flips one of Axelrod's traders Donnie Caan (David Cromer), though it is later revealed that Donnie had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and Axelrod used him to feed the FBI information he wouldn't live to testify for. In the wake of this failure, the Attorney General requests that the investigation into Axelrod end. Wendy leaves Chuck after he breaches her session notes for proof of Axelrod's illegalities; she also leaves Axe Capital, unable to work at a firm that engages in such practices.

An investigation, to be led by official misconduct investigator Oliver Dake (Christopher Denham), is opened into Chuck's office. Axelrod senses his vulnerability and orchestrates a class action lawsuit against Chuck. With the Attorney General prepared to fire him, Chuck announces an investigation into Spartan Ives CEO Lawrence Boyd (Eric Bogosian) in a last ditch effort to save his position; the AG postpones Chuck's termination as it would appear that the administration would be meddling on Boyd's behalf. Meanwhile, for the sake of her family, Wendy agrees to return to Axe Capital if Axelrod drops the lawsuits against Chuck. Axelrod agrees and Wendy returns to the firm; she also reunites with her husband while Axelrod's own marriage crumbles. In another loss for Axelrod, Chuck arrests Boyd and gets him to agree to a hefty settlement, resulting in Chuck's elevated status and the end of the investigation into his office. Meanwhile, Chuck's personal attorney and Chuck Rhoades Sr. (Jeffrey DeMunn) unite for a promising business venture, a beverage company titled Ice Juice. With the IPO projected to soar, Axelrod is informed of the venture's proximity to Chuck and attempts to sabotage it by inducing minor poisoning through compromised associates. Wendy attempts to alert Chuck to this but, frustrated by his disbelief, buys a short on the IPO herself. The Ice Juice IPO crashes, though this is revealed to have been Chuck's ultimate plan: he baited Axelrod to sabotage the venture and leveraged Dake (the newly appointed Eastern District Attorney) to investigate it; Axelrod is subsequently arrested and indicted.

Cast and characters

Main

Paul Giamatti as Charles "Chuck" Rhoades, Jr.: U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who later attempts a run for governor of New York and is elected Attorney General 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 higher-earning wife, Wendy, and by his well-connected, wealthy father. He went to Yale (as did his father) and has a blind trust of which his father is a trustee. In private, he is a sadomasochist and engages in BDSM role play with Wendy and other women, acting as a "slave." The character is loosely based on the careers of Preet Bharara and Eliot Spitzer.

Damian Lewis as Robert "Bobby" Axelrod (seasons 1–5, 7): an ambitious billionaire manager of the hedge fund Axe Capital and a Hofstra University graduate who came from humble beginnings. He was one of his firm's survivors of the September 11 attacks, reforming it as Axe Capital and paying the college tuition of the children of his colleagues who died in the World Trade Center. He is extremely charitable and generous in public, but uses insider trading and bribery to grow his firm's enormous wealth. He has unique instincts that have led to a virtually infallible trading career. The character is loosely based on Steven A. Cohen and his former hedge fund S.A.C. Capital Advisors.

Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades: a psychiatrist, in-house performance coach at Axe Capital, wife and later ex-wife of Chuck Rhoades, Jr. She is self-possessed, motivated, extremely successful and went to Yale. She has a strong relationship with Axelrod, her boss, with whom she has been working for more than 15 years. She participates with Chuck in BDSM role play activities and dominates Chuck.

Malin Åkerman as Lara Axelrod (starring seasons 1–3; guest season 4): wife and later ex-wife of Bobby Axelrod and a former nurse (who maintains her professional license). She is from a lower-class, blue-collar upbringing but has left her former self behind. She was devoted to her husband and their children. Her brother Dean, a New York City firefighter, was killed in the 9/11 attacks. Lara disapproves of Axe's close relationship with Wendy.

Toby Leonard Moore as Bryan Connerty (starring seasons 1–4; guest seasons 5, 7): the Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force for the Southern District of New York and Rhoades's point man at the start of the series. He later succeeds Rhoades as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York until he engages in illegal witness tampering, eventually spending time in prison for his crime. Chuck transfers him to a white-collar prison after making a deal with his brother.

Production

Development

The series was ordered by Showtime in March 2015, and the first season premiered January 17, 2016. On January 26, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on February 19, 2017. Showtime confirmed in April 2017 that Asia Kate Dillon, who is non-binary, would be a series regular in the third season. Billions is considered to be the first American TV series to have a non-binary character.

Preet Bharara, the inspiration for U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes who was portrayed by Paul Giamatti, was somewhat critical of Giamatti's casting – jokingly referring to the Italian American actor as "noted Indian American actor Paul Giamatti".

On May 8, 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season by Showtime, which premiered on May 3, 2020. On October 1, 2020, Showtime renewed the series for a sixth season and Corey Stoll was promoted to series regular. On February 15, 2022, Showtime renewed the series for a seventh and final season.

In February 2023, Showtime announced that several spinoffs of the series were in development, including series set in London and Miami, and a series with the working title "Millions" featuring "diverse, thirty-something financial mogul wannabes" in Manhattan. Paramount executive Brian Robbins referred to the potential spin-offs at a June 2024 shareholder meeting, but the Wall Street Journal reported in November 2024 that while a script for the Miami spin-off had been delivered, it did not get a green light and that the plans for the other spin-offs had been dropped, as the LA Times also confirmed in 2025.

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.

Depiction of BDSM

The show captured the attention of the BDSM community, as it features numerous depictions of BDSM activity, and the two main characters of Charles "Chuck" Rhoades, Jr and his wife Wendy Rhoades engage in BDSM scenes numerous times in the early seasons of the show. In addition, season 4 of the show depicts the character of Chuck Rhoades coming out as a practitioner of BDSM in a public political speech. The show's producers retained the services of noted BDSM lifestyle expert Olivia Troy as a consultant to help ensure the activities are portrayed both accurately and safely.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an overall approval rating of 86%, with a rating of 78% for season 1, 89% for season 2, 93% for season 3, 97% for season 4, 91% for season 5, 100% for season 6, and 60% for season 7. The site's critical consensus for the first season reads: "Despite a lack of likable characters, Billions' soapy melodrama and larger-than-life canvas offer plenty of repeat viewing potential." For season 2 it reads: "An influx of new characters and a fresh narrative twist give Billions an added boost during its thoroughly entertaining second season." The site's critical consensus for the third season states: "Anchored by the performances of Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, the third season of Billions continues a convincing fable of greed, power and competition." On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season reads, "With tables turned and alliances formed, Billions's fourth season goes full throttle with sharp dialogue, better rivalries, and bigger stakes."

On Metacritic, the show has an overall score of 71. The first season has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on reviews from 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews", while the second season has a score of 67 out of 100, based on reviews from 6 critics, also indicating "generally favorable reviews". Praise for the series has steadily grown over time—also on Metacritic, its third season scored a 77 out of 100, while its fourth holds a score of 87 out 100 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The show's coverage of the hedge fund industry has been widely recognized as realistic.

In 2017, after introducing Taylor Mason (played by Asia Kate Dillon) in season 2, Billions became the first American TV series to have a non-binary character and actor. The series received positive comments for its representation of non-binary gender, with praise for its depiction of inclusion of gender-neutral singular they pronouns in the workplace. Billions was nominated multiple times for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series for their representation of the LGBTQ community.

Lawsuits

Billions has faced two lawsuits regarding both copyright infringement and defamation.

The first, brought by Denise Shull and the ReThink group in 2019, alleged that Billions ripped off Shull's book and based character "Wendy Rhoades" on her likeness. She also argued that Billions engaged her as a consultant on the show, but did not compensate or credit her for her time, as Shull claimed is illustrated in a released video. The case was dismissed and appealed. In July 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss the suit, saying that Shull's book and the show are not substantially similar.

The second, brought by the Cayuga Nation in 2020, argued that Billions defamed both the nation and its federal representative. In the show, the nation is depicted engaging in acts such as the illegal operation of a casino business, blackmail, and bribery. One of the Cayuga characters featured on the show had the same last name and occupation as a real-life member. The case was dismissed.