Billions Renewed For Season 4 At Showtime

[Nergal]

 

If you, like Damian Lewis’s Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod, can’t get enough of the “juice,” then Showtime has great news for you, as the pay cable network has renewed Billions for season 4. The series is coming off a surprisingly strong second season, and is currently halfway through a promising third, as the grudge match between Axe and his nemesis Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) escalates in the wake of some serious power plays on both sides, neither of which are terribly concerned about the legality of it all.

The series, from creators Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin has been positioned to become Showtime’s new flagship series from the beginning, and now, thanks in large part to the show’s willingness to go absolutely nuts and leave the audience either laughing or stunned (usually both) while doing so, Billions is poised to be just that. And it’s not too out of bounds to say the network and the series have David Costabile’s Mike ‘Wags’ Wagner and his twirly mustache to thank for a huge part of the show’s ever-loyal fan base.

The news of Billions being renewed comes not long after Claire Danes confirmed that season 8 would be the last for Homeland, placing Showtime in a position to ensure it has its current MVP in the lineup for at least another season. Don’t be too worried about the show going anywhere after season 4, though; Showtime is nothing if not committed to keeping all of its successful series going for as long a possible. Translation: Billions likely won’t come to an end until Koppelman and Levien are good and ready to hang all of Axe’s ultra-expensive hoodies up for good. Showtime president of programming Gary Levine had this to say about the season 4 renewal:
 

“BILLIONS continues to build its audience as it explores the heights of power and wealth even as it plumbs the depths of the human psyche. Brian and David are gifted, propulsive storytellers and we can’t wait to see where they and their extraordinary cast will take us in season four.”

The show has earned its devoted fan base due in large part to nearly every episode being eminently quotable or memorable for some other reason. A recent episode ‘Hell of a Ride’ featured the surprising off-screen demise of a minor character from season 2, and the on-screen reaction to that death further revealed how morally compromised so many of these characters are. Then there was the locker room scene between Chuck Sr. (Jeffrey DeMunn) and Bryan Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore) that revealed… so much more.

There may be more Reddit threads devoted to the various twists and turns of Westworld, but Billions has HBO’s sci-fi puzzle box beat when it comes to the sheer number of scenes it can pack into a single episode that absolutely require a a post-viewing discussion. As such, it’s great to know the cat-and-mouse game between Chuck and Axe will continue into season 4, because we could all use a little more juice.

Billions continues Sunday with ‘The Third Ortolan’ @10pm on Showtime. The series will move to 9pm ET/PT beginning Sunday, May 6 with ‘Not You, Mr. Dake’.