Category: Billions

Billions Season 2 Dining Guide

My husband and I are crazy foodies. He loves to cook (we are talking about a man who bakes bread, brews beer and makes pancetta here!) and we both love to eat. Thus, NYC dining scene, from its “special occasion” restaurants to yummy hole-in-the-walls to city institutions to cozy neighborhood joints, making memorable appearances in Billions makes us smile big!

source: Showtime

Today I turn that big smile into Billions Season 2 dining guide with a huge THANK YOU to the show creators for loving and honoring the dining capital of the world: Some of these places are my personal favorites and I believe, being the forensic fan that I am, I have been able to figure out almost all of them using hints from the scene as well as Google and, hey, Google earth, too! 🙂 And big thanks go to Brian Koppelman for kindly answering a few of our restaurant related questions on Twitter.  Continue reading “Billions Season 2 Dining Guide”

Books are a Trigger for Billions

Perhaps not as sexy as the food or the music, nor as readily noticeable, is the backdrop of books used in a show. Shows that care about such things, like Billions, speak volumes with those carefully chosen volumes. It’s about setting the stage, providing props for the characters and the action. Most interestingly, the placement of books is about saying a thing or two about the character who owns them, in a language both visual and textual (if you look closely enough :)) Alternatively, barring such esoteric “meaning”, at the very least, books laying about can be fun Easter eggs that may say a thing or two about the folks who put the show together.

So, join me as we browse through the bookshelves of Billions.

Continue reading “Books are a Trigger for Billions”

Season 2 Bobby Axelrod – the “eyes” have it!

Hello, all! It’s officially springtime here in Minnesota. The trees are blooming and the citizens are sneezing!

the hills are alive with the sound of sniffling

I’ve been far more entertained by the critters returning to my bird feeder after the long, cold winter, than I ever care to admit.  I’m pretty sure the only thing that entertains me more, these days, has been Billions. And my-oh-my, season two has been mind-blowing!

source: Showtime

Today I am here to do a little comparison work between the Bobby of season one, and the Bobby in season two. As always, I’ll be viewing Damian’s work through the lens of a Delsartean. Continue reading “Season 2 Bobby Axelrod – the “eyes” have it!”

Music of Billions Season 2

Compared to Season 1, this season of Billions, for whatever reason, used a bit less music, fewer seminal tracks to accompany its richly crafted scenes. Music was still important this season, but somewhat less so than last. In my review of last year’s music, you’ll count 36 tracks. Here, the major songs in all episodes amounted to 20. Interesting revelation from this exercise is that they seem to follow a certain pattern in genres from one season to the next. That is to say, the aural landscape of this season seemed to contain the same proportion of arena metal, 70’s funk, contemporary alternative, live ballad, perennial classics, and lovely alt-country. All the tracks they chose, regardless of number, hit all the marks.

Let’s follow along with Season 2’s playlist, shall we?

Continue reading “Music of Billions Season 2”

Billions Season 2 Locations in New York City and Beyond

source: Showtime

I am an immigrant. I moved to the US for graduate study in late 1990s. My husband and I, having finished our PhDs, moved to New York in 2001, only weeks before September 11, for our first jobs. The city has since given me so much in so many different dimensions and defined me as an individual: a foodie, a film buff, a theatre lover, a feminist, a wine snob, a runner and more… Even though we moved to the South five years later for new jobs, we could not give up on New York. We still have a tiny apartment on the Upper West Side and we are proud part-time New Yorkers 😀

And, as I mentioned a billion times before, Billions is a dream show for me not only because my favorite actor is in it, but also New York, from its landmarks to city parks to its distinct neighborhoods, appears as a cast member! As someone who feels the only home she has in the world is the city that never sleeps, I particularly love it that Billions is taking over New York, the BIG film studio that it is, and shooting all over the place, from Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to The Bronx to Long Island and to northern suburbs. So this Billions Season 2 Location Guide is a loving tribute to my most favorite place on earth and a heartfelt thank you to the Billions show creators for giving us a love letter to the city.

ENJOY!

ps. If you think I am missing a location, please let me know and I will be very happy to add it to the list. Continue reading “Billions Season 2 Locations in New York City and Beyond”