Taking a breather from watching Billions

BillionsPhoto byCarol Durant

I took a break from filling my shopping cart on Amazon with all the great Black Friday deals and decided to check out Amazon Prime. I slogged through the website and stumbled across the show, Billions. It’s a series that originated on Showtime. Seasons 1–4 are available to stream.

Before I comment on why I became disenchanted, let's give a nod to the positives. The cast and the writing (including Season 4) was stellar. Paul Giamatti and Damien Lewis are the protagonists and their scenes together are an acting master class. Some of the fantastic supporting cast include: David Costabile, Maggie Siff, Asia Kate Dillon, Kelly auCoin, Condola Rashad and Toby Leonard Moore. They all deliver their acting assignments with aplomb and intensity. The writers kept the dialogue lively with plenty of high and low brow witticisms which makes you want to take notes and research the answers after the episode is over. It was such a fast paced and exciting show that I sped through the first four seasons and didn’t get a speeding ticket.

Here are my annoyances regarding Billions: $29.99 to view Season 5 on Showtime or get the 30 day free trial and then cancel? I was quite miffed and then became angry because I had to decide if I wanted to pay the hefty price tag, since I really love the show. I decided to break the tie by reading the reviews on Amazon Prime about Billions. There are over 1100 reviews from one star to five stars. There are some funny humans in this world that watch and take the time to review the show. The reviews ranged from exemplary to scathing. I made the decision that I’m not going to pay for Season 5–6. The negative reviews from three stars to one star were successful in keeping money in my wallet.

The most exciting news is that Season 7 has been announced and Damien Lewis is back in the cast. They were shooting on location in London. I hope the writing and storylines are interesting and well done. I will suffer in silence and hope the other seasons will arrive on Amazon Prime very soon.