Category: Billions

The Billions Supper: a promo

Gingersnap brilliantly dove deep just a couple days ago into the recent DaVinci’s Last Supper photo shoot for Billions Season 3. Consider this reporter thoroughly scooped by her examination of the imagery throughout this heavily stylized promo. Nonetheless, here I am with my observations on what it all may mean for our beloved cast and characters this upcoming season, appended with a look at the fun behind the scenes vid of the photo shoot.

Promos certainly do the trick of whetting our appetites, don’t they? Especially when it seems like we’ve already waited forever. Fear not, just a few more weeks remain now till the Billions premier on March 25. (and the more promos they do, the more often you’ll see us here talking the heck out of them!)

Continue reading “The Billions Supper: a promo”

Decisions Matter: Game Theory
in Billions – Part II

In case you missed Part I, you can see it here.

We are getting into more intricate territory in Season 1 Episode 6 The Deal with Wendy now getting involved in the game with her two boys! 😀

Paul Giamatti, Maggie Siff and Damian Lewis at a Billions photo shoot at TCA 2017

Costly Signaling

We see Bobby playing a textbook signaling game in The Deal like Chuck does in The Pilot. He invites Wendy to a meeting at a very unusual spot: A spa pool. Bobby wants to make sure no one is listening but also, and more importantly, wants to find out whether Wendy is loyal or not. We know where Axe stands on loyalty from what he said to Mafee earlier: “You don’t try to be loyal. You just are. Or you’re not.” It is loyalty that rules Bobby Axelrod’s billions. Continue reading “Decisions Matter: Game Theory in Billions – Part II”

Billions Season 3: The Ultimate Pissing Contest Continues *UPDATED*

We kicked off the festivities for Billions Season 3 with a detailed coverage of Billions at TCA 2018 and now that we have an airdate, a trailer, a teaser and the new season poster, speculation rules until Season 3 premieres on March 25 10pm EST.

I wrote about what to expect when we are expecting Billions Season 3 based on my own thoughts and hints from a few set photos before they dropped the first few Season 3 promos. But now that I have seen the promos my head is spinning and my imagination is going wild. And as I keep the focus on the trailer and the teaser in this post, I leave the forensic analysis of the new season poster to Gingersnap. Stay tuned!

Continue reading “Billions Season 3: The Ultimate Pissing Contest Continues *UPDATED*”

Decisions Matter: Game Theory in
Billions – Part I

Game Theory. A term we have repeatedly heard on Billions.

Chuck talks about his strategy to make Pete Decker sing in Season 1, Episode 3 Yum Time:

Spyros: That’s what I like to call “the prisoner’s dilemma.”

Chuck: No, you don’t like to call it that. That’s what it’s called. Started as a thought experiment, game theory in the ’50s. Does no one ever check you on this bullshit?”

Wendy talks to Axe about Krakow (without naming him) in Season 2 Episode 1 Risk Management:

source: Showtime

“And the manager played some heavy game theory on me, boxed me into a spot, essentially put himself in a position to win no matter what I said.”

Axe tries to get Taylor play in the Alpha Cup in Season 2 Episode 3 Optimal Play:

I had a feeling, pulled your resume, saw some game theory strengths, looked into it a little bit more.”

What is game theory? Continue reading “Decisions Matter: Game Theory in Billions – Part I”

Billions Season 2 Music

We know how important music is the world of Billions. Showrunner Brian Koppelman recently said on his podcast The Moment that he writes to music. He shared that he wrote the penultimate episode of Season 2, “Golden Frog Time” with Tom Petty’s “Even the Losers” as inspiration and that song played during the writing of the show as well as within the show itself. When the question arose to whether they’d get the rights to use the song in the episode, Koppelman insisted that without the song there’d be no episode, literally and metaphorically. Thankfully they did get that song and many more memorable cuts for Season 2.

In a wee bite of a taste of what to expect in Season 3, we learned that “Born in San Antone” by Garrett T. Capps will open the first episode. Here’s some of his Lou Reed-ish styling here:

Just occurred to me and I had to go and listen and check to make sure they indeed haven’t used this song in either S1 or S2: LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum” totally brings up the ethos of the Billions world. Again, not one from the show as we know it, but certainly one metaphorically connected, at least in this viewer’s head.

In the spirit of getting geared up for another season of rich musical accompaniment to this show, let’s revisit Season 2’s playlist. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Billions Season 2 Music”