‘Billions’: Drama Sees Major Cast Change Heading Into Season 6
Firstly, just want to apologise for the vague headline, but the ‘Billions‘ Season 5 finale hasn’t gone out in the UK yet, so I don’t want to ruin things for those of you who want to keep spoiler-free for the final episode… But times, they are a-changin’, as Bob Dylan so aptly put it…
Once again, *SPOILERS AHEAD* – STOP READING if you don’t want to be spoilt for the finale!
Still here? Okay then…
The bombshell finale, which aired last night in the US, saw a major shift in the dynamics of the show. Axe is gone, along with his fortune, as the high-flying hedge fund manager absconds to Switzerland to escape the law, leaving his firm in the clasp of Michael Prince, played by the brilliant Corey Stoll. This means the wonderful Damian Lewis has left the drama after five seasons.
Taking to Twitter, Lewis said “Thank you @SHO_Billions thank you @briankoppelman @DavidLevien. A pleasure and a privilege to play Axe for 5 seasons with some of the smartest, funniest most talented cast and crew I’ve worked with. I’ll miss the Billions family. Yep, some jobs are more than just a job…. Love.”
It’s not clear if Lewis had already made the decision to leave, or if this is a result of him reorganising his life following the tragic passing of his wife, the wonderful actress Helen McCrory, who died of cancer in April. Whilst I will be very sad to see him go, bringing in Stoll as a replacement should make for a very interesting 6th Season! What’s more, that new season is not that far away, as Showtime has announced it will land in the US on Sunday, January 23 at 9pm, and it even has a synopsis and trailer!
As the dust of season five clears to reveal a world that has evolved. With Axe (Damian Lewis) gone and Michael Prince (Stoll) assuming his place, Chuck (Paul Giamatti) must develop a new strategy that is keener and more sophisticated than before. All the players, from Wags (David Costabile) to Wendy (Maggie Siff), from Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon) to Sacker (Condola Rashad), and of course Senior (Jeffrey DeMunn), must sharpen their weapons and look for new alliances in order to survive. The ground is ever-shifting and the stakes absolute. New king, new war, new rules.
In addition to those returning cast, Daniel Breaker (‘Girls5eva’), who stars as Scooter, the brilliant and locked down Chief of Staff of Michael Prince, has been upped to series regular.
‘Billions’ is created and executive produced by showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The series was also created by Andrew Ross Sorkin.
‘Billions‘ Season 5 finale airs Wednesday at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
Season 6 will premiere Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 9pm on Showtime in the USA. We don’t yet have a UK premiere for Season 6, but it hopefully won’t be far behind. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when they get a UK premiere date.
