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Billions MVPs: Season 7 Episode 12, Series Finale “Admirals Fund”

The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs

by Staff | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | November 1, 2023

Billions has sadly come to an end and so has our MVP series! Here are the final season seven Most Valuable Players for Billions to complete our series compilation, the ‘Billions MVP Fanbook.’ For one last time we commemorate all those in honor of achievement for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses from the episode – from sports references, music and tasty food to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks. In case you missed it, catch up with the MVPs of the season seven premiere Tower of London, episode two Original Sin, episode three Winston Dick Energy, episode four Hurricane Rosie, episode five The Gulag Archipelagoepisode six The Man in the Olive Drab T-Shirt, episode seven DMV, episode eight The Owl, episode nine Game Theory Optimal, episode ten Enemies List and episode eleven Axe Global.

As you probably guessed there was a lot to unpack in the series finale, and the amount of awards bestowed reflects that. Now let’s dive in one last time. Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 7, Episode 12, series finale “Admirals Fund.”

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Categories Billions Interviews Print Media Recap

‘Billions’ Creators Break Down Dual Forces Driving the Series Finale: ‘Their Souls Are in Peril’

Motives, Music and Moral Uncertainty

by Ben Travers | IndieWire | October 30, 2023

Brian Koppelman and David Levien speak to IndieWire about the motives, music, and moral uncertainty built into “Billions” final season.

“Billions” ends not with one man reigning supreme, but two titans shaking hands. Chuck (Paul Giamatti) and Axe (Damian Lewis) joined forces early in Season 7 and — despite a history filled with trickery and betrayal — remain loyal to the very end. Along with their devout team of stock traders and political savants, the duo takes down Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) and his bid for the presidency, before parting ways as friends. Chuck will continue working for the state of New York, while Axe is back behind the soon-to-be sleek desk of his hedge fund.

For a series that began with promises by both men to utterly destroy the other, some fans may be miffed that neither star is crowned as champion. But for showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien, the “Billions” series finale isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s an embodiment of what the series has been all along: a massively entertaining reflection of the way the world works. For every cheery, satisfied smile, there’s deeper meaning tucked within the folds. So IndieWire dialed up the co-creators to break down the ending, the final season’s big swings, and how they managed to fill “Billions” with so much beautiful music.

IndieWire: For the final season, when and why did you decide it would be best for Chuck and Axe to team up, rather than go after each other?

David Levien: We felt like the real mano-a-mano thing between Chuck and Axe reached its fullness during the end of Season 5, where neither guy lost completely, but neither guy won completely. It was like pure victories and standoffs and grudging respect for the opponent who played you to your very end. Then over the course of the sixth season, as Mike Prince started to reveal the darker hues of his character and how he could be a danger, we realized we had a formidable enough foe that these others could team up against him. In a certain way, that’s the most fun because the barbing is still there, but they have a common cause.

Continue reading ‘Billions’ Creators Break Down Dual Forces Driving the Series Finale: ‘Their Souls Are in Peril’

Categories Billions Interviews Print Media Recap

‘Billions’ Is Over. Its Creators Still Don’t Understand Why We Loved Axe

The Art of the Long Con

by Miles Surrey | The Ringers | October 30, 2023

Showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien sat down to discuss the series finale, the art of the long con, and the public’s changing perspective on billionaires.

Throughout the course of Billions, characters have conspired to take down their enemies with comically elaborate schemes. It’s only natural, then, that the series finale, “Admirals Fund,” hinges on one last con. With self-made billionaire Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) shaping up to be the next POTUS, longtime adversaries Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) work together to take away the one thing that legitimizes Prince’s candidacy: his wealth.

Continue reading ‘Billions’ Is Over. Its Creators Still Don’t Understand Why We Loved Axe

Categories Billions Print Media

New York City Was the Real Star of ‘Billions’

Neighborhoods Where Characters Lived
Served as Shorthand for Their Personalities

by Dodai Stewart | New York Times | October 27, 2023

As the Showtime series airs its final episode, the showrunners look back at the essential role the city’s restaurants and neighborhoods played.

New York City has been the backdrop for many TV series over the years, from “Law & Order” to “Sex and the City” to “Succession.” But the Showtime series “Billions,” which ends on Sunday after seven seasons, may have been the New Yorkiest of them all.

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Creators Wanted Finale to Feel Like West Wing

It’s a Thrill Riding Shotgun With These Avaricious Characters

by Sarene Leeds | Vulture | October 27, 2023

The markets have closed for Billions, the high-stakes financial drama that concluded its run after seven adrenaline-filled seasons. With one last flawlessly executed final scheme, longtime rivals Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis) banded together to topple self-righteous billionaire Mike Prince (Corey Stoll). In one fell swoop, Prince turned pauper and Axe’s most loyal sycophants lined their pockets. “Admirals Fund” provides the veneer of a happy ending, with Axe reclaiming his old hedge fund and career lawman Chuck reasserting his mission to bring criminals to justice, but that doesn’t signify growth, co-creators and co-showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien tell Vulture. “They can’t help themselves!” says Koppelman. “You’re taking on the language of evolving, maybe, but that doesn’t mean you’re evolving.”

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

‘Billions’ Director Talks Series Finale Scheme and Gives Update on Spinoffs

Happy Endings for REAL Billions’ Fans

by Ileane Rudolph | TV Insider | October 27, 2023

Who’d have thunk? Billions, Showtime’s smart and cynical hit show about the intersecting worlds of NYC’s financial and law enforcement goes out with a happy ending.

TV Insider talked to Neil Burger, a producer and director who helmed, among many other episodes, the inaugural episode and the series finale. (He also has a feature film The Marsh King’s Daughter debuting on November 3.)

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

‘Billions’ Bosses Break Down That Electric Series Finale

Ending Was Crafted for the Billions’ Obsessives

by Josh Wigler | The Hollywood Reporter | October 27, 2023

Series creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien tell The Hollywood Reporter that the ending was crafted for the “‘Billions’ obsessives” who stuck around with the finance drama for seven seasons, and potentially into multiple spinoffs on the other side.

“Bobbie Sue took the money and run” is not exactly the same as saying “Bobby and Chuck took the money and run,” though “Sue” is not a bad nickname for the crusading lawyer played for seven seasons by Paul Giamatti. Still, the vibes are very much on point as Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run” played viewers out in the opening and closing moments of the series finale of Billions, which ended a seven-season run with one last signature heist and one last big score for basically every single character — everyone, except for late-game antagonist Mike Prince (Corey Stoll).

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Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Series Finale: Creators Explain Ending, Pop Culture Analogies and Why Axe Didn’t Hook Up With Wendy

Admirals Fund

by Lynette Rice | Deadline | October 27, 2023

It’s the end of the road for Bobby Axelrod and his team: the drama created by Brian Koppelman and David Levien ended its seven-season run Oct. 27 with a tidy finale that keeps Axe (Damian Lewis) in the game of making money.

Here, Koppelman and Levien reflect on the finale, how the writers strike impacted production on the finale, and why they couldn’t say goodbye without including a few more pop culture analogies (like Phil Spector with River Deep!) in the episode.

Sadly, questions about Billions spinoffs were verboten.

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Categories Billions Print Media

Billions’ Creators Discuss How the Finale was Fueled by Backstabbing and Blind Faith’s Music

This Season is For People Who Really Loved the Show

by Greg Braxton | LA Times | October 27, 2023

When the propulsive financial drama “Billions” premiered in 2016, its core premise centered on the vicious blood feud between U.S Atty. Chuck Rhoades and billionaire hedge fund king Bobby “Axe” Axelrod. The hatred between the two men was so fierce it was almost assured that only one man would be left standing at the end.

But the climactic moment of the series finale showcased a warm handshake between Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and Axelrod (Damian Lewis) as they reflected how their vicious duel had radically changed them both and made them better men.
The moment was unexpected but also inevitable. The former foes had joined forces this final season to combat their common enemy — Michael “Mike” Prince (Corey Stoll), a billionaire who was not as brash as Axelrod but who unveiled a sinister hunger for power as he launched his candidacy to become president.

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Categories Billions Print Media

As ‘Billions’ Ends, Its Creators Discuss the Changing Face of the Ultrarich

Billions: Imminent Conclusion

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | October 26, 2023

In an interview, the showrunners discussed its imminent conclusion and the rise of billionaires who believe they are “making the world a better place.”

As the Showtime financial thriller “Billions” prepares to air its final episode this weekend, it’s worth considering how far we’ve come. The show started as the story of the crusading U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and the hard-charging hedge funder Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). Exclusive restaurants, elaborate schemes and a host of cameos by real-world power players provided the backdrop for their battle.

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Categories Billions Gallery Trailer Video

Official Trailer: Billions Season 7

The Final Season

by Sho_Billions | YouTube | June 27, 2023

Today Showtime/Paramount released the official trailer for Billions season 7! The season synopsis is as follows: Alliances are turned on their heads. Old wounds are weaponized. Loyalties are tested. Betrayal takes on epic proportions. Enemies become wary friends. And Bobby Axelrod returns, as the stakes grow from Wall Street to the world.

“America, the land of the free, opportunity and self-determination, but you can’t escape your enemies — ’cause I’m back now, and I’m wide awake.” – Bobby Axelrod

He’s back, baby! And he has an axe to grind. Billions season 7 premieres August 11, 2023 on the streaming platform Paramount+ with Showtime before making its on-air debut Sunday, August 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. View first look photos in our Gallery.

Source: YouTube

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First Look at Damian Lewis in the Final Season of Billions

Nighttime Meeting

by Justine Browning | Entertainment Weekly | June 26, 2023

Power, wealth, and high-stakes drama are heading toward an epic conclusion as the final season of Billions approaches. EW has your first glimpse at what’s ahead with exclusive images from the upcoming season 7, including the highly anticipated return of Damian Lewis as bad-boy finance bro Bobby “Axe” Axelrod. Official trailer drops tomorrow, June 27, 2023.

In one shot, he’s seen taking a nighttime meeting with Mike “Wags” Wagner (David Costabile), Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), and Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff). Lewis, who departed the series at the end of season 5, will return for six of the final season’s 12 episodes. (Gingersnap note: The nighttime meeting appears to be from filming at Tower of London back on November 4, 2022. View those photos here.) View more first look photos in our Gallery.

Continue reading First Look at Damian Lewis in the Final Season of Billions