Billions pilot remember the day we heard the news

Damian Lewis is returning to Showtime and he's bringing Paul Giamatti with him.

Homeland alum Lewis and Oscar-nominated Giamatti have been tapped to star in Showtime's drama pilot Billions, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Billions is a fictional drama that takes a forensic look at the world of high finance by tracking the approaching collision between two titanic figures — the hard-charging, whip-smart U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes (Giamatti), and the brilliant, ambitious hedge-fund king, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Lewis).

Read more Showtime Orders Drama Pilot From New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Divergent, Limitless) will direct the pilot, which will film in New York in early 2015.

Billions is written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Squawk Box's Andrew Ross Sorkin, and was picked up to pilot in March.

The role marks a return to the premium cable network for Lewis, who won a Golden Globe and Emmy for his portrayal of Nicholas Brody on Showtime's Emmy-winning drama Homeland. His credits include Band of Brothers and PBS' upcoming Wolf Hall. The casting comes after Showtime president David Nevins fought hard to keep Lewis' Brody on Homeland after season one when the character was originally envisioned as having a shorter run on the series. He's repped by UTA, Markham Froggatt and Jackoway Tyerman.

cast news for Billions

Melissa Errico, a multi-talented actress and vocalist who has appeared in television, film, and stage, will join the cast of Billions, an upcoming Wall Street drama written and produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, RUNAWAY Jury, Runner Runner) and writer Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big to Fail).

Errico will play the role of June, a widow with a connection to the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis).

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little summary....in pictures

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and enjoy a brillinat review of WOLF HALL

Damian Lewis is Henry VIII, King of England 1509-47, an intelligent, imaginative man, who admired scholars and took his religious duties seriously. But he was also a hellraiser, a glutton who loved to fight, and he suffered a serious injury on the jousting field.

Henry doesn’t appear until the last five minutes of the first episode, which emphasises that this really is Cromwell’s story. But when the king speaks, viewers of a nervous disposition should take cover: he is a bully and a megalomaniac, a terrifying combination.

This is not the fat caricature familiar from other productions, but a convincing king . . . one who believes in his God-given right to absolute power. And when Lewis is on screen, he commands our total attention.

source damian-lewis.com

Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis will make 'Billions' on Showtime

I could do this all day:-)))

source hitfix

 

Showtime capped off a busy week of pilot casting by landing a pair of Emmy winners to topline its drama pilot "Billions."

Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis will star in the pilot, which will shoot in New York City in early 2015.

 

Written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin, "Billions" is described a fictional drama that "takes a forensic look at the world of high finance by tracking the approaching collision between two titanic figures."

 

Those figures are U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes (Giamatti) and hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Lewis).

 

Showtime also announced that Neil Burger ("Limitless") has signed on to direct the pilot.

An Oscar nominee for "Cinderella Man," Giamatti has been making an aggressive push into TV in recent years. The "John Adams" Emmy winner earned Emmy nods for HBO's "Too Big to Fail" and earlier this year for "Downton Abbey." While FX opted not to move forward on his drama pilot "Hoke," Giamatti has had several TV productions in development, including a pair of limited series at FX through his Touchy Feely Films banner.

 

And Lewis and Showtime are old buddies after the "Band of Brothers" veteran earned a pair of Emmy nods and a 2012 win for his work on "Homeland." He has "Wolf Hall" heading for PBS and while he was attached to co-star in the HBO miniseries "To Appomattox," that project has been pushed back and reconfigured so many times I genuinely don't have a clue anymore if it has a cast or a production schedule.

 

A cast of Emmy-winning TV favorites doesn't necessarily mean anything at Showtime, as folks looking forward to seeing Kyle Chandler in "The Vatican" know, but that's still a powerhouse start to an ensemble. 

 

Showtime announced earlier this week that Steve Coogan would play the lead in the half-hour comedy "Happyish," taking over the role played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in an earlier pilot incarnation.

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Billions of Thoughts...

We have been thrilled with the news that Damian Lewis is going to Wall Street as a high-profile hedge-fund guy in a new pilot for Showtime drama series BILLIONS. Fans all over the world are reacting to it, so why wouldn't we, the blog girls, also react to it? So, here you go! 

Sabrina

I am the one in the team who cried her eyes out at Brody's last episode but only it was a master class in acting. The fact Damian has left Homeland made me actually very happy because I thought it could be nice to move on and as a fan I had a lot of reasons to jump up and down with joy. Queen of the Desert and Wolf Hall are my particular reasons for a happy dance.

But of course I always wondered myself how I would feel about if he would do another series…

Now I know it. I am very happy because I have a high opinion of Showtime. The fact that Damian might be returning to Showtime makes me proud and happy and the series plot sounds brilliant.

It’s that kind of Joker Damian has sometimes in the pocket.

The plot sounds promising and absolutely suitable for our time.

For me I am very happy!!

Best of luck to Damian and the whole crew!!

Emma

As a lover of anything Wall Street and Damian Lewis related I am beyond excited about the new Showtime show "Billions." Congratulations Damian, have missed the US accent x

Bahar

Well, I was in deep thoughts... Homeland is gone (for me --- well, I am watching it, but it misses Brody big time, oh well...)... Breaking Bad is gone... Mad Men is ending this spring... then what? And... Damian Lewis comes to the rescue! Yay! He's bringing Paul Giammati with him, too, we will be in some serious acting heaven... I know Damian will be amazing as this brilliant, ambitious, complicated guy Bobby Axelrod... already a household name for us, the blog family! So, my dear Brody, you know I miss you and will always carry you in my heart, but I can see Bobby Axelrod will have some wardrobe! Best of Luck, Damian!