Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis have been cast to play the leads in a Showtime pilot examing the contemporary world of high finance.
Written and executive-produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin, Billions is a fictional drama that takes a forensic look at the world of finance by tracking the approaching collision from the hard charging U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes (Giamatti), and the ambitious hedge fund king, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Lewis). Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Divergent, Limitless) has signed on to direct the drama pilot, which will be filmed in New York in early 2015.
Amidst their extensive list of credits, Giamatti and Lewis have notched Emmys for their work in premium television: the former was named the outstanding lead acfor in a miniseries or a movie in the lead role for HBO's John Adams, while the latter earned the statue for outstanding lead actor in a drama for his portrayal of Nicholas Brody in Showtime's Emmy-winning series Homeland.
