This is my first television review on my blog! This is going to be a regular feature of my page for the downtime between major releases. Every week, I will give my quick thoughts on each episode. They will not be thorough and detailed like my official reviews, but will work more as a documentation of my thoughts on a particular show throughout the season. After the season is over, I will do a more in depth season review. I see seasons of television as one whole split up into small pieces. As such, I do not want to do in depth reviews of small pieces. I will save that for when I finally have the big picture.
My first review is going to be for Billions, the new show on Showtime network starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti. When it is a show that has just premiered, my first review of that show will always be spoiler-free. That way, I can inform you of the program and let you decide if you want to watch it. Afterward, my reviews and recaps will address spoilers from the show are are meant for readers who are watching the show week by week along with me. Make sense? Cool! Let's talk a little bit about Billions.
Billions chronicles the lives of privileged folk. These characters are wealthy and influential. They have motivations and goals that seem foreign to people outside of their world and they know it. This is where "Axe" Axelrod comes in. Damian Lewis plays Bobby Axelrod, a hedge fund manager who tries to keep up a charitable and pleasurable public image. He works hard, goes to charity dinners, and has a very attractive wife and kids. His firm is worth billions (see what I did there?) and has stakes in many local businesses in New York that he has proven skilled in shorting and organizing. He has inherited the firm through tragic circumstances, which I do not want to spoil right here, and seems to use it to advance himself. He comes from a hard working background, so he says, but he has given into the greed a bit. He is a good man in theory, but he sure does love his money. In fact, he wants to buy a 65 million dollar home, which will give him quite the frivolous spin in the papers, especially if it was ever found out that he was involved in some shady dealing.
In comes Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades. He is the Southern New York state attorney. He has never lost a financial case. He also has two kids and a beautiful wife just like Bobby, but he comes from a different side of things. Once he receives a tip that the highly famous and influential Axelrod may have some iffy dealings, he cannot let it go and seeks to get the government involved in an investigation into his business practices. This proves to be hard because his wife Wendy (played by Maggie Siff) just so happens to be working at Axelrod's firm as their resident psychologist and makes even more money than her husband. (Gasp!) Add in the fact that Bobby's wife Lara (Malin Akerman) also has Lady Macbeth-type tendencies in regards to her powerful husband and you have a battle of wits between these two couples that sweeps up everyone who works around them and uses them as tools for their own means. Both couples mean well, but they both also have their personality flaws. Who will come out on top I wonder?
I really like this show so far. I am reviewing the first three episodes right now and it is starting to get into its groove about what kind of show it wants to be. The Pilot episode was a bit clunky, particularly in the first 15 minutes that were very exposition heavy, The characters were not as defined as they should have been in this first episode, but the potential for interesting drama was there so I continued with the show. Once episode 2 began, I was hooked. The characters finally were defined and found their place in the show. The plot also decided what kind of story it wanted to tell and its a fun one. This is definitely not on a level of self-seriousness that House of Cards is on, which is not a bad thing in this case. While "Billions" does play in some melodrama, it wants to have fun with it and revel in the messes that the warring main characters are getting themselves into. It has a more modern upbeat soundtrack and some rather funny song ques, notably at the end of the third episode.
This is where I am a bit concerned though. While the show is very entertaining and did improve after that first episode, I still feel like it has some growing pains to wring out over the next couple of episodes. The tone is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes it is dramatic, then it features goofy and crass one liners. The show has a tendency to try to make good use of its home on premium cable by forcing crassness and oddities into a lot of its downtime just because it can. Some of it works. Some of it comes off as forced. I do hope this is a tonal issue that they finally nail down at some point soon, because regardless of that this is a very entertaining show. The writing has some nice sharp wit to it and its depictions of relationships and intimacy is some of the better attempts at it that I have seen on television.
There is a lot of potential here for some great performances and writing. Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti are doing a bang up job. I am definitely tuning in to see the rest starting on Sunday! I hope you'll be there to join me once I finally starting spoiler-filled recaps.
The first three episodes of Billions get a B+ grade from me as of right now and it has the potential to get even better.
Billions airs on Showtime every Sunday at 10 PM ET/CT. It will also be streaming on its app.
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