Showtime Orders Second Season of ‘Billions’

Showtime has picked up a second season of hot drama Billions, which had the best debut for an original series in network history, tallying 6.5 million viewers. The series debuted Jan. 17.

Billions airs Sundays at 10 p.m. Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis star in the series, which pits a U.S. attorney against a brash hedge-fund titan.

The robust premiere, which beat Ray Donovan’s previous record for the network, was helped by a free Showtime preview across much of the country, and strong reviews.

Brian Koppelman and David Levien created and executive produce Billions, as does NY Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.