Damian Lewis returns to Showtime, and he’s got a high-caliber Emmy winner to join him in his last effort, Paul Giamatti. The two actors topline the New York-based drama series “Billions” set to air next year, which just got its first trailer today.
This promo looks to toy the line between somewhat interesting and becoming something of a retread of high corporate films and TV shows you’ve seen all-so-many-times before. The cast is likely going to get people talking more than the plot itself, though, and with dialogue bouncing between entirely generic (“When did it become a crime to succeed in this country?”) and saucily fun (“What’s the point of having fuck you money if you never say fuck you?”) it’s hard to decipher which direction the show with steer.
If you notice a bit of an Aaron Sorkin-vibe here, you’re not alone and that’s probably intentional. Though the Steve Jobs screenwrite isn’t involved, Showtime does have a different Sorkin involved with the project, Andrew Ross Sorkin, financial columnist for “The New York Times” and author of “Too Big to Fail“, to hopefully give the show’s financial talk some legitimate backing. He writes “Billions” alongside fellow executive producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Rounders), with Neil Burger (Divergent) attached to direct the pilot.
Check out the trailer below:
