Billions is a Showtime drama series that premiered in 2016 and quickly became one of the cable network’s best shows.
The series is set in financial centers and focuses on a hedge fund manager and billionaire named Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) as he accumulates great wealth and power but crosses paths with United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), who wants to prosecute him.
Billions was loosely based on the real-life legal battles between former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen.
So far, there have been five seasons and, at this time, 55 episodes, although the fifth season shut down production early and still needs to shoot five more episodes to bring that season to an end.
With that said, Showtime knows it has a hit on its hands and renewed Billions for a sixth season, hoping to get back to work on Season 5 and make Season 6 at the same time.
Here is everything we know so far about Billions Season 6.
- Updated on November 9, 2021: News of major casting changes, release date, and the first-look trailer.
- Updated on January 23, 2022: Release date, trailer, and information about new season.
This article provides everything that is known about Billions Season 6 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s dig down into what is known so far.
Is there going to be a Season 6 of Billions?
Showtime announced the renewal of Billions on October 1, 2020, for the sixth season.
However, Showtime still needs to finish the final episodes for Season 5 of the series. There is also no word on whether or not Season 6 of Billions will be the last.
It is no surprise that Showtime chose to renew the series. It has a high Rotten Tomatoes rating. While the first season was an average 77-percent, the next four ranked between 86-percent (Season 5) and 97-percent (Season 4).
While it has not received accolades in the form of Emmy nominations, it has received praise from the GLAAD Media Awards as it introduced the first non-binary character and actor to an American series.
This was in the form of Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon) in Season 2, and the show received praise for its depiction of inclusion and non-binary pronouns within the workplace.
Release date latest: When does Billions Season 6 come out?
The coronavirus pandemic shut down the series’s production, and there were still five episodes to make for Season 5.
Showtime chose not to follow major networks’ footsteps, which just finished their seasons early without wrapping things up. Instead, Showtime wanted to end the season the way they planned, and that meant making fans wait for the end to come.
Showtime aired the final five episodes of Season 5 in Fall 2021 and will follow that up with Season 6.
The first season of Billions premiered in January 2016, the second in February 2017, the third in March 2018, the fourth in March 2019, and the fifth season in May 2020. There is a good chance that the fifth season’s final episodes could end up released by May 2021.
Season 6 of Billions will premiere on January 23, 2022.
Here is the first-look trailer that arrived after the Season 5 finale.
Billions Season 6 cast updates
Damian Lewis will NOT be back as billionaire Bobby Axelrod
With the huge escape of Bobby in the Season 5 finale, Showtime confirmed that Lewis will not return for Season 6.
“This is not the first time I have said goodbye to Damian Lewis,” said Gary Levine, Showtime’s president of entertainment. “What a testament to his talent that he inhabited two wildly different characters — Axe and Brody — on two of our most successful series — ‘Billions’ and ‘Homeland’ — and made them both so iconic. He is an extraordinary actor and I hope there will be a third time.”
Lewis’s wife died while he was shooting the fifth season of the show, and that might have made his departure a reality.
Paul Giamatti will return as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades, the man who wants to bring him down.
Also expected to return are Asia Kate Dillon as Taylor Mason, Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades, and Roma Maffia as Mary Ann Gramm.
Corey Stoll, who fans might know from Ant-Man (he was the bad guy Yellow Jacket) and The Strain, was upped to a series regular. He stars as Mike Prince, a social impact pioneer who threatens Damian Lewis’ Axe’s dominance.
It appears that Stoll’s Prince will now be the rival lead on teh show to Giamatti.
Season 5 introduced Julianna Margulies’s Catherine Brant as an Ivy League sociology professor and bestselling author. There is no word on if she will return for Season 6.
Billions Season 6 spoilers
Season 5 of Billions saw Damian Lewis’s billionaire Bobby Axelrod and Paul Giamatti’s US Attorney Chuck Rhoades reignite their vicious rivalry. However, new enemies rose to take aim along the way, including Corey Stoll’s Mike Prince.
Chuck spent time in Season 5 feuding with a formidable district attorney in Mary Ann Gramm (played by Roma Maffia).
Taylor Mason (played by Asia Kate Dillon) goes back to work at Axe Capital and has to fight to protect the employees and their assets.
Wendy Rhoades (played by Maggie Siff) forges a surprising new alliance that put her at odds with Chuck and Axe.
In the Season 5 finale, No Direction Home, Lewis’ Axelrod, once again under the gun from law enforcement, escaped in cloak-and-dagger fashion with a hoard of money to Switzerland, avoiding prosecution in New York.
Corey Stoll talked about his new role as one of the leads.
“What Prince did to acquire Axe Capital, he was really in some ways the only person actually working towards his own benefit,” Stoll said. “Everybody else was working out of emotion and resentment and trying to get the other guy.
“While all these rivalries were happening, Prince could come in and take what was his. I think now coming back, the question for the audience is, can Prince remain so clearheaded and logical and above the fray?”
Check out the trailer here
Billions Season 6 will premiere on Showtime on January 23, 2022.
At the rate we seem to be going, the series shall soon have to be renamed Trillions.