Showtime occupies a middle-ground position in the hierarchy of premium cable. It’s still a significant notch below HBO, without breakthrough shows like Game of Thrones and True Detective, but it’s certainly above networks like Cinemax and Starz, best known for their skin-heavy programming.
However, with dramas like Penny Dreadful, Masters of Sex, Homeland and The Affair, Showtime is definitely working to strengthen its library and compete directly with HBO. Just today, the trailer for Showtime’s upcoming Billions dropped, and it must be said that the series looks pretty killer, definitely the type of program that could put Showtime in the mix for awards come Emmy season.
It also brings Damian Lewis, who departed Homeland at the end of its third season, back to Showtime, and pairs him with Paul Giamatti, which should make for some absolutely explosive dramatic fireworks.
Billions arrives sometime next year.
BILLIONS is a bold, contemporary drama that melds the worlds of ultra-wealth, influence and corruption as personified in two highly ambitious opposing figures: hard-charging, blue-blooded, politically connected U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti) and brilliant, calculating, blue-collar billionaire hedge fund king, Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis). Set amongst the Machiavellian machinations of New York City power politics and finance, BILLIONS weaves a complex, intricate narrative featuring a high-stakes game of predator-versus-prey.