Showtime’s Wall Street Drama Billions Secures Season 2 Order

Wall Street’s Powers That Be (read: Showtime) have formally announced plans to continue financial drama Billions into season 2.

Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s acclaimed series may claim that power is the ultimate currency, but record-breaking viewing figures aren’t too shabby, either. According to Showtime, Koppelman and Levien – who created, wrote and executive produce the show – premiered Billions earlier this month when it became the highest debut ever for a freshman series in the network’s history.

That’s quite the feat, and the mere fact that Billions has earned a season 2 order even though only two episodes of the Wall Street thriller have aired is a testimony to the show’s ability to make a stellar first impression. Indeed, Showtime noted that, when accounting for delayed viewing, the premiere for Koppelman and Levien’s ludicrously entertaining drama pulled in 6.5 million viewers, eclipsing the previous record set by Ray Donovan (6.1 million) when it made its bow back in 2013.

Starring Damien Lewis of Homeland fame and Paul Giamatti as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades, Billions airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. To get the jump on what all the fuss is about, you can check out our own review based on the first half of the inaugural season.

Billions is a bold, contemporary drama series 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 (Giamatti) and brilliant, calculating, blue-collar billionaire hedge fund king, Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (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. Maggie Siff, Malin Akerman, Toby Leonard Moore, David Costabile and Condola Rashad also star.