Categories Billions Print Media

Frank Grillo Shares What it Was Like to Work with Damian Lewis on Billions – July 24, 2020

Pizza and Paintings

by Charles Thorp | InsideHook | July 24, 2020

Frank Grillo recently joined InsideHook readers for an intimate live conversation hosted by contributor Charles Thorp. The hard-working actor went in-depth on his experience joining the cast of the Showtime hit Billions as artist Nico Tanner, his work in Marvel’s Avengers franchise as Crossbones, and Netflix’s recent acquisition of his MMA-based series Kingdom.

You can read their conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, below.

InsideHook: How familiar were you with Billions before you joined?

Frank Grillo: I had no idea this show was this big. I did it because I had some down time, and I swear to God I have never been more bombarded by people on a project that I have done. I have to say I agree that it is one of the better shows on television, and no question one of the greatest casts on television. So to step in during their fifth season was a huge pleasure.

Continue reading Frank Grillo Shares What it Was Like to Work with Damian Lewis on Billions – July 24, 2020

Categories Billions Poll

Which Billions Character Are You Based On Your Zodiac? – July 4, 2020

The 12 Zodiac Signs of Billions

by Philip Etemesi | Screenrant | July 3, 2020

Billions focuses on the lives and intrigue of, well, billionaires. Which of these rich characters are you based on your zodiac?

Showtime series Billions is currently in its fifth season and it’s still as intriguing as ever. A couple of billionaires such as Mark Cuban have even confessed to being huge fans of the series. And according to top hedge-funders, it gives an accurate portrayal of life at Wall Street too.

Billions is loosely based on the pursuit of billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. Cohen was eventually banned from trading for two years. Here are the Billions characters that represent each of the 12 Zodiac signs.

Continue reading Which Billions Character Are You Based On Your Zodiac? – July 4, 2020

Categories Billions Locations Guide

Billions Season 5 Locations Guide, Episodes 1-7 – June 22, 2020

Season 5 Locations Guide

by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 22,2020

As I mentioned a billion times before, Billions is a dream show for me not only because my favorite actor is in it, but also because New York, from its landmarks to its city parks and to its quirky shops, appears as a cast member in the show! As someone who feels the only home she has in the world is the city that never sleeps, I particularly love it that Billions is taking over New York, the BIG film studio that it is, and shooting all over the place, from Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to The Bronx to Long Island and to northern suburbs. So I have put together this Billions Season 5 Location Guide as a loving tribute to my most favorite place on earth and a heartfelt thank you to the show creators for writing a love letter to the city.

Hope you pick and choose and take your own Billions tour in New York City and beyond and give us feedback! And in case you missed Fan Fun locations guide for the previous seasons, you can check them out here, here, here, and here. And please note that show staples like Axe Capital HQ, Chuck’s State AG office or Chuck Senior’s apartment were all listed in previous seasons when they first appeared.
Continue reading Billions Season 5 Locations Guide, Episodes 1-7 – June 22, 2020

Categories Billions Poll Recap

The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale – June 17, 2020

Billions MVP Awards for Season 5, Episode 7, “The Limitless Sh*t”

by Gingersnap | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | June 17, 2020

We continue to award our Most Valuable Players for Billions season five in a compilation post called the ‘Billions MVP Fanbook,’ which commemorates all those in honor of achievement for the utmostbrazen, 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. In case you missed it, here are the MVPs for episode one, episode two, episode three, episode four, episode five, and episode six.

Let us continue with that tradition as we award our Most Valuable Players (MVPs) for the mid-season finale. Here are the Billions MVP awards for Season 5, Episode 7, “The Limitless Sh*t.”

Continue reading The Unbeatable, Unstoppable, Unparalleled MVPs from Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale – June 17, 2020

Categories Billions Gallery Trailer Video

Billions Will Return to Finish Season 5 – June 14, 2020

Teaser Trailer

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | June 14, 2020

Billions Season 5 will return with new episodes soon! Catch up on all episodes now! Starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti. Watch new episodes of Billions on Sundays at 9/8c on SHOWTIME.

Teaser Trailer:

Categories Audio Behind the Scenes Billions Podcast

Behind the Billions Podcast S5E7 “The Limitless Sh*t” – June 14, 2020

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at “The Limitless Sh*t”

by Brian Koppelman and David Levien | The Ringer | June 14, 2020

Before getting into “The Limitless Sh*t,” Episode 7 of Billions Season 5, co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien discuss the concept of high-end mental-performance-enhancing drugs; the difficult editing required to pivot into a midseason finale; crew superstars, including the line producer, key grip, and gaffer; obscure references; guest cast; and more (0:05). They next speak with actor-director David Costabile, who plays Mike Wagner, about directing as well as acting in Episode 7, figuring out who Wagner is as a character, old-school NYSE traders, and more (31:05)

Source: The Ringer

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Forbes – June 14, 2020

An Act of War

by Dana Feldman | Forbes | June 14, 2020

All is not fair in love and war. This is made very clear in the midseason finale of Billions. Of note, tonight’s episode “The Limitless Sh*t” was directed by the one and only David Costabile, better known as Wags.

Axe (Damian Lewis) wages war on Mike Prince (Corey Stoll) when he discovers his adversary has crossed the line. But this is just one battle Axe is fighting. He’s also very irritated by the deepening relationship between Wendy (Maggie Siff) and Nico Tanner (Frank Grillo) and we know what happens when Axe is unhappy about a situation: He finds a way to destroy it.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Forbes – June 14, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: New York Times – June 14, 2020

Moral Inconvenience

by Sean T. Collins | New York Times | June 14, 2020

Season 5, Episode 7: ‘The Limitless Sh*t’

Bobby Axelrod can see the Matrix. Or whatever the moneymaking equivalent of the Matrix would be.

After popping a barely legal brain enhancement pill called Vigilantix, provided by Axe Cap’s resident dark-arts practitioner Victor Mateo, Bobby is convinced that both he and any of his employees who have taken this dubious drug are thinking five, 15, 50 steps ahead of their competitors. As stock-ticker numbers fly across the screen, his eyes glow as blue as the Night King’s from “Game of Thrones,” as if he had literal superpowers. And he is focusing those powers on a single goal: Corner the rare-minerals market by investing in meteor harvesting.

No, really.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: New York Times – June 14, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Wall Street Journal – June 14, 2020

Axe Capital on Drugs, a Scandal and a Firing

by Paul Vigna | Wall Street Journal | June 14, 2020

A few weeks ago, we questioned whether Showtime’s “Billions” was lionizing Wall Street or satirizing it. We’ve come to a decision.

It’s satire. No other answer makes sense.

In the midseason finale (directed by David Costabile; written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Emily Hornsby), Bobby Axelrod gets his entire firm hooked on a purported productivity drug, which almost has Axe Capital staring down the barrel of a $3 billion loss, while Mason Carbon deals with a far less dramatic scandal, and Chuck Rhoades tricks the Treasury secretary into firing himself.

There isn’t much Wall Street stuff in this episode that needs deconstructing. It’s all about how the stories are presented.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Wall Street Journal – June 14, 2020

Categories Billions Poll Print Media Recap

The Most Billions-y Things That Happened on Billions Season 5, Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale – June 14, 2020

This Isn’t the Limitless Sh*t, It’s the Scarface Sh*t

by Kyle McGovern | Newsweek | June 14, 2020

Episode Seven: The Limitless Sh*t

To celebrate the show’s compelling brand of absurdity, we’re keeping track of the most Billions-y things that happen on Billions this season. For highlights from the latest episode, brace yourselves and head below.

This Episode Is Actually Titled “The Limitless S**t”

Yes, that title is indeed a reference to the 2011 Bradley Cooper flick Limitless. In that movie (which later became a short-lived TV series of its own), Cooper stars as a guy who takes a drug that improves his brain function to the nth degree. (Or, as Phyllis from The Office once put it, “Isn’t that the one where the guy becomes limitless?”) And that’s exactly what goes down at Axe Capital this week—sort of. But we’ll have more on that in a moment. For now, take a second to appreciate that episode title, which is just a peak Billions Bro move—even more so than calling this season’s second episode “The Chris Rock Test.”

Continue reading The Most Billions-y Things That Happened on Billions Season 5, Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale – June 14, 2020

Categories Billions Print Media Recap

Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Entertainment Weekly – June 14, 2020

Axe’s Anger Makes For an Explosive Mid-Season Finale

by Kyle Fowle | Entertainment Weekly | June 14, 2020

Last week’s episode of Billions ended with Axe creepily stalking Wendy and then suggesting she bring Tanner, the painter he commissioned and her new romantic partner, to a dinner. Any of us could tell this was Axe making a power move, attempting to assert his dominance over Wendy. At the beginning of this week’s midseason finale — due to COVID-19, we probably won’t see the back half of this season until 2021 — that dinner takes place in all of its awkward glory. Axe brings Maria Sharapova with him, and Wags is there with his new young girlfriend, who he’s hoping will afford him another shot at being a father. It’s all very messy, and it isn’t long before Axe is making passive-aggressive comments about Tanner and rolling his eyes when Wendy puts her hands on him.

The scene is another great example of how this season is starting to push Axe in a new emotional direction. His interest in Wendy is proving to be self-destructive in a way we haven’t seen with him before. And yet, this episode mostly sidelines the romantic intrigue from previous episodes, focusing instead on the moves happening with Axe Cap, the charter bank, and Chuck’s attempts to finally nail Axe once and for all.

Continue reading Billions Season 5 Episode 7 Mid-Season Finale Recap: Entertainment Weekly – June 14, 2020