Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 2 Recap: Entertainment Weekly – May 10, 2020

Axe’s New Foe Beats Him At His Own Game

by Kyle Fowle | Entertainment Weekly | May 10, 2020

In the season premiere of Billions, Axe meets the man he believes to be his latest adversary. I say “believes to be” because for Axe, everyone is his enemy. He’ll never be happy nor satisfied with the life he’s built. He’s always going to be judging himself against others, or judging the choices of others and seeking to punish them for not living the way he assumes they should be. There’s no better evidence of that than the spiritual journey he undertook with Wags. Rather than finding enlightenment, Axe has found a shaman to attach to his hopeful push into the industry of psychoceuticals, the use of hallucinogenic drugs to combat things like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. (Side note: Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind is an excellent book on that topic.)

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 2 Recap: Entertainment Weekly – May 10, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 2 Recap: Vulture – May 10, 2020

Dark Passenger

by Sarene Leeds | Vulture | May 10, 2020

Who is more abhorrent? The guy who imperiously proclaims to be a “monster,” the guy who hides his monstrous qualities behind a façade of bogus humility, or the guy claiming to keep his monster at bay with a code? This is a question that pops up on Billions regularly, making an episode like “The Chris Rock Test” a whole lot of fun — because the answer is, as always, they’re all equally repugnant.

In one corner, we have Chuck Rhoades, holding firm to his pledge to change himself for the better. On the surface, he’s following through on his promise, starting off the episode in therapy. (The brutal reality of COVID-19 once again weaseling its way into our TV escape; Chuck’s therapist is played by the late Mark Blum.) During the session, Chuck is asked to name a wisdom avatar, and his choice speaks volumes. He’s been reading Dexter Morgan novels lately, so Chuck selects Harry Morgan, father and conscience of the literary serial killer, as his source of guidance. (A Showtime drama referencing the basis for another Showtime drama? Who would’ve thunk it?)

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 2 Recap: Vulture – May 10, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions on Showtime, Season 5 Episode 2: The Chris Rock Test – May 10, 2020

Monsters and Serial Killers

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 10, 2020

It does not matter if it is a carnivorous or a cuddly one. Or one that lives with a code. Billions Season 5 Episode 2 The Chris Rock Test demonstrates that a monster is a monster no matter what.

Oh My God – how come I forgot Billions does never waste a word?!?!  As I thought he was just being kind, Axe  was very serious when he said his goodbye to the Shaman in Season 5 Premiere The New Decas:

“…until we see each other and move your knowledge into the world, be well.”

As someone who never misses a business opportunity, exactly where he and Wags saw “the creator of souls” Axe also saw a market! And now he, along with Wags and Taylor, is attending the “The Mike” held at the Mohonk Mountain House – actually waiting for The Mike to descend from the sky in his seaplane and welcome them to the conference.

Continue reading Billions on Showtime, Season 5 Episode 2: The Chris Rock Test – May 10, 2020

Categories Billions Interviews Video

I Was Interested In How Taylor & Axe Were Going To Get Along – May 8, 2020

Taylor Back at Axe Capital

by DJ Sixsmith | CBS Local Denver | May 8, 2020

(CBS Local) – “Billions” is back on Showtime for season five and things are about to get interesting as Taylor Mason is back at Axe Capital.

Asia Kate Dillon has been a trailblazer in their portrayal of the non-binary character Mason and Dillon is excited for fans to check out season five of the series.

“We got through shooting seven episodes and we were shooting episode eight when we shut down production,” said Dillon in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “The first seven episodes are going to come out and we still have to film the back half of the season. I went into this season like I do every season with excitement and curiosity. I know very little about what’s going to happen ahead of time. Certain things the producers will let me know, but for the most part I like to be surprised. This season, I was particularly interested in how Taylor and Axe were going to get along, now that Taylor is back at Axe Capital. Also, I was really interested in how the relationship between Taylor and Wendy Rhoades was going to develop.”

Continue reading I Was Interested In How Taylor & Axe Were Going To Get Along – May 8, 2020

Categories Billions Recap

From the Trader’s Desk: “The New Decas,” Billions S5 Ep1 – May 8, 2020

Axe Cap vs. Mason Cap – Fight, Fight, Fight!

by Lady Trader | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 8, 2020

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out
Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about
“Welcome Back” – John Sebastian

Welcome back to “From the Trader’s Desk” for Season 5 of Billions!

Before I get into my recap/analysis, let me just say, boy, did I miss these characters from my screen! With everything that is going on in the world right now, having Axe, Wags, Taylor, Wendy, and yes, even Chuck, back and up to their usual shenanigans was like slipping into a comfortable pair of jeans!

Since there was not a lot of fin-speak this week, let’s see where the characters I call the Big Four (Axe, Chuck, Wendy and Taylor) are when we start the new season.

Before I start, I’d like to talk about the school-yard battle between the Axe Cappers and the TMCer’s. There is bad blood between these two camps. One reason is because the ACs see the TMCs as interlopers (and in the case of Taylor and Mafee, traitors). No one likes anyone coming into their “house” infringing on their territory.

Continue reading From the Trader’s Desk: “The New Decas,” Billions S5 Ep1 – May 8, 2020

Categories Billions Poll Recap

The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 5 Episode 1 – May 6, 2020

Billions MVP Awards for Season 5, Episode 1, “The New Decas”

by Gingersnap | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | May 6, 2020

Dominance. Corruption. Influence. Vicious rivalries. New enemies. New alliances. Shifting loyalties. Formidable feuds. Predator vs. prey. Take-downs. The struggle for power and the struggle for survival. All of this can only mean one thing: BILLIONS IS BACK BABY!

This season we will review each episode and award our Most Valuable Players (MVPs) for the utmost brazen, uber shameless, ultra scheming, unmatched bad asses to date – from sports references, music and tasty food, to pop culture remarks, shocking twists and ultimate paybacks. This will serve as our prize ‘Billions MVP Fanbook’ commemorating all those in honor of such achievement.

Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 5, Episode 1, “The New Decas.”

Continue reading The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 5 Episode 1 – May 6, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media

The Billions Cast on What They’ve Learned from Wall Street – May 5, 2020

Rage Rooms and Mason Jars

by Lane Florsheim | Wall Street Journal | May 4, 2020

When stay-at-home orders began, the cast and crew of Billions had finished seven of season 5’s twelve episodes, the first of which aired May 3. On a Zoom call with WSJ., some of the cast and crew’s most vital members were emotional about seeing each other’s faces again. “I’ll just say—looking at all of you right now, I’m very sad that we’re not together doing this,” said showrunner Brian Koppelman. “Whenever we can go back to work, we’ll finish the five remaining episodes, which are pretty much written.”

This season begins a little less harmoniously. Almost everyone is out for blood: Chuck Rhoades (played by Paul Giamatti) is back in the attorney general’s office, hellbent once again on taking down billionaire hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), all while restarting a teaching career and coping with the dissolution of his marriage to Wendy (Maggie Siff). Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon), who left Axe Capital to start their own shop at the end of season 3, is back at Axe with plans to let Chuck and Axe demolish each other. New guest stars arrive this season: Corey Stoll plays woke billionaire and new Axe foe Mike Prince; Julianna Margulies stars as a sociology professor peer of Chuck’s; and comedian Eva Victor joins as Rian, a brilliant analyst with a unique market view in some of the season’s later episodes.

In a group interview, Giamatti, Dillon, Siff, Stoll, Koppelman and his co-showrunner David Levien discuss the making of season 5, how the cast’s real-life moments become parts of the show’s script and whether the characters on Billions are capable of change.

Continue reading The Billions Cast on What They’ve Learned from Wall Street – May 5, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 1 Recap: Wall Street Journal – May 5, 2020

Enlightenment and ‘Deca’-Dence

by Paul Vigna | Wall Street Journal | May 4, 2020

“Kings? They don’t blow around, man. They stand there and they take.” Axe is back, and he’s on the road, scruffy and bearded, on an ostensibly Zen motorcycle trip with Wags, his right-hand reprobate (we’re not judging). In a tent with a shaman, they trip out on ayahuasca, a psychedelic popular in all the places you’d expect—Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Brooklyn.

There’s vomiting and visions, and Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) promises the shaman they will “move your knowledge into the world.” We guarantee he’s already working out the possible returns on moving such knowledge to Wall Street.

The trip is cut short when Wags (David Costabile) gets a note that Vanity Fair wants Axe for a cover story it’s doing on “The New Decas,” as in, people who are worth $10 billion. It’s also the title of the premiere episode (written by creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien, directed by Matthew McLoota).

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 1 Recap: Wall Street Journal – May 5, 2020

Categories Billions Poll Print Media Recap

Billions Superlatives “The New Decas” – May 4, 2020

A Wedding, a Divorce, and an Ayahuasca Trip

by Miles Surrey | The Ringer | May 4, 2020

Television always has been an essential respite from the stress and daily grind of our lives. After a long day, sometimes you just want to kick back and watch some dumb robots fight each other while Aaron Paul looks very confused, or see two normal people have an on-and-off relationship for a few years. Me? I want nothing more than to unwind while watching brilliant thespian Paul Giamatti telling a bunch of reporters that his character engages in consensual BDSM with his adoring wife who whips him into submission. That is but a taste of what transpires on Showtime’s Billions: a rich, simile-loving text, and perhaps my biggest guilty pleasure on the small screen.

Under normal circumstances, I’d prepare for a new season of Billions like an upper middle class kid waiting to open presents on Christmas morning knowing Papa has provided everything on the wish list. But the COVID-19 pandemic putting a halt to things like interacting with other human beings has made the return of Chuck Rhoades, Bobby Axelrod, and their perpetual dick-swinging contest into something more than just a show that I want. It will be a spiritual journey. I plan to inhale the fifth season of Billions with the type of intensity and detail usually reserved for a smash hit like Game of Thrones (before it turned to utter shit), and there’s nothing that can stop me.

Let’s celebrate the return of Billions with some superlatives from Sunday night’s premiere, “The New Decas.”

Continue reading Billions Superlatives “The New Decas” – May 4, 2020

Categories Audio Behind the Scenes Billions Podcast

Behind the Billions Podcast S5E1 “The New Decas” – May 4, 2020

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Season Premiere 

by Brian Koppelman and David Levien | The Ringer | May 3, 2020

Following the season premiere, Koppelman and Levien discuss the show returning for its fifth season, what a showrunner really does, the importance of season openers, and Episode 1 of Season 5 of Billions, “The New Decas” (0:20), before talking to “The Man” Becky Lynch about her cameo in Episode 1 (32:20).

Source: The Ringer

Categories Billions Trailer Video

Sneak Peek of Billions Season 5 – May 4, 2020

Game’s Not Over, Buddy Boy

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 4, 2020

Take a look at what’s to come this season on Billions. Starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti. Watch new episodes of Billions on Sundays at 9/8c on SHOWTIME.

Categories Billions Print Media Video

VIDEO: Billions Showrunners Break Down the Season 5 Premiere and What’s to Come – May 4, 2020

Variety After Show

by Staff and Cynthia Littleton | Variety | May 3, 2020

Can the group of hardcore characters who fuel the “Billions” universe overcome their baser instincts to find success and happiness? These are the broad themes of the fifth season of “Billions,” Showtime’s twisty-turny drama series set against the backdrop of New York’s investment and high-finance community.

Brian Koppelman and David Levien, series co-creators and showrunners, join the Variety After Show, presented by National Geographic, to break down the season premiere and offer some insights about the rest of the season ahead. The opener, “The New Decas,” was penned by Koppelman and Levien and directed by Matthew McLoota.

Continue reading VIDEO: Billions Showrunners Break Down the Season 5 Premiere and What’s to Come – May 4, 2020