A lackluster pilot mars an otherwise great start to Showtimes newest drama, Billions.
I really thought we were done with TV pilots.
Its on pay cable for one and it has an absolute murderers row of talent involved.
Just greenlight that shit, Showtime!
and the U.S. District Attorney knows hes got to get to work.
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The aforementioned pilot is a disappointment precisely because its so pilot-y.
The pilot is frustrating for two reasons.
The second is that the other five episodes Showtime made available to critics range from good to outright excellent.
Despite the weak premiere, however, the first season ofBillionscontinues Showtimes three-year streak of producing a worthwhile drama.
The money onBillionsoperates almost as a setting instead of an antagonist or a plot point.
In that way, currency onBillionsisnt unlike zombies onThe Walking Dead.
The money onBillionscreates the environment but the people are well, people.
Theyre people of great skill and a thirst for power, action and influence.
*Fitting because aWalking Deadalum, Jeffrey DeMunn, pops up as Chucks father.
Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades have suspiciously appropriate names for their occupations.
Bobby gets to go back Axe and name his firm the ominous sounding Axe Capital.
Beneath the simplistic buddy-comedy Axe and Rhoades names, however, lie fairly complex individuals.
Also refreshing, are the relationships at play.
Perhaps because its so inexplicable.
Its as though they know they are just players on opposites of the board in a cosmic game.
Cops and robbers with excel spreadsheets.
Chuck and Wendy face an issue of a conflict of interest since she works for the company hes investigating.
Billionsfeels like its been in the works for a while.
Thanks to some tremendous character-work, however,Billionsis more timeless than it could have been.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5
