One man’s crusade to bring billionaires to their knees

Depending on your current bias towards billionaires and their self absorbed foibles like launching themselves into space and buying social media platforms while the world burns, you’ll probably find yourself taking sides while watching Season 6 of Billions, the brilliant drama set in the world of high finance.

The amount of money in play is mind boggling and impossible to conceive by us mere mortals, whose lives revolve around whether the petrol price will go up or down next month, knowing which supermarket retailer has pantry basics on special, and are incandescent over Eskom’s proposed tariff increase. (Ironic really, because incandescent means “emitting light as a result of being heated” and if it was literal, we’d all be fine.)

No, this is more money than we can imagine, but it’s all relative. For Mike Prince (Corey Stall) to make a split second decision to spend $22 million is a drop in his bucket. We might feel the same about deciding to donate R20 to a charity. It really hits home in episode 4, throughout which various scenes are frozen to give an on-screen running total of the costs of what characters are wearing (a $180K watch for Taylor – Asia Kate Dillion – for example), and other expenses like a $600 cup of coffee, $6 million for a carbon neutral yacht, and more than half a mill for a party for the Olympic commission – excluding drugs and food. There is a message, which you’ll see at the end of the stylistic episode.

The state of play at the start of Billions Season 6

Let’s get up to speed. Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis) departed at the end of Season 5, and I was certain the series would flounder without its lead character. I was so deliciously wrong. Stepping into his place is Michael Thomas Aquinas Prince. Most Axe Capital employees stayed on with the notable exception of Mafee (Dan Soder) and Dollar Bill (Kelly AuCoin), who exited dramatically to start their own firm.

Wendy (Maggie Siff) stayed, as did Wags (David Costabile), mainly because Axe built a clause into his contract that would effectively cost Prince $80 million to fire him. Once Axe’s right hand fixer, he now finds himself part of a two-man team with Scooter (Daniel Breaker), Prince’s own number two.

Taylor and their team, Rian (Eva Victor) and Winston (Will Roland), are still there, as are most of the familiar recurring faces of the portfolio managers and traders on the floor.

On the other side of the battlefield is Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), Wendy’s ex-husband and Attorney General of the fine city of New York. He was on the verge of finally nabbing Axe in Season 5, but he slipped through his fingers. Chuck is nothing if not tenacious and his raison d’être is to destroy billionaires whose very wealth and arrogance he finds so offensive. In Season 6, he does everything he can to foil Prince at every turn, even if it seems detrimental to the city. He is relentless.

The entire season is a back and forth between Chuck and Mike, a game with no rules, where secret double agents and elaborate set-ups see the power balance flip from one to the other. 

Reasons to watch Billions

Of the Season 5 finale, Entertainment Weekly said: “It was only a matter of time before Billions pulled the rug out from under us and revealed the true arc of this season. It happens every year (you could criticise the show for being repetitive, in fact, as there’s generally not much structural change from one season to the next) and yet, because of the cast and the writing, it’s incredibly entertaining. It’s always a blast to watch the whole tower of cards come crashing down, creating chaos leading into the next season.” 

This, in its entirety, applies to Season 6 as well, which could almost serve as a standalone season.

The writing is beyond brilliant. It’s fast, it crackles, it sparkles with repartee that references popular culture, history, philosophy, mythology, movies and music, reinforcing the intelligence of the characters. It’s popping candy for the brain. The closing credits are accompanied by a song that is relevant to perhaps one line, or exchange, in the preceding episode. No spoilers; part of the genius of this show is that it never sticks around to explain anything. You get it, or you don’t. Your attention and concentration is required for full enjoyment.

Then there’s the colour blue, which has been a feature for several seasons. It’s apparent in clothing, furniture and landscapes. The theories behind this are many, just ask the internet.

The boldest and most reckless moves in Billions Season 6

Billions is fast paced, and thoroughly audacious. Here are some of the stand-out moments of boldness and recklessness.

• Mike Prince – and this is in episode 1 – decides to fire his investors who are not squeaky clean. He presents what he calls the “Prince List”. To be on it, and to have your money managed by Mike Prince Capital (MPC), you have to earn that place. “Ballsy fucking move,” says a clearly impressed Bonnie (Sarah Stiles), a trader who joined Axe Capital in Season 3.
• Prince is shooting for the stars, and the bid for NYC to host the 2028 Olympics. This prompts a string of audacious actions in a multi-episode arc as Chuck attempts to thwart him at every turn. But does Prince want this for New York, or to win back his ex-wife Andy (Piper Perabo)?
• Prince makes Kate Sacker (Condola Rashad) an offer she cannot refuse, poaching her from Chuck’s office. She tells Chuck and he’s delighted, hoping to have her inside the enemy camp as a spy. Heck, even Chuck’s own father (Jeffrey DeMunn) offers to be a plant but Chuck says that’s too obvious and he finds someone else. Notice that when Kate changes jobs, she lets down her hair, a detail that is surely not accidental nor coincidental. 
• Wendy writes a book, based on the people at  Axe Capital and MPC, which does not go down well at all. She’s trying to follow an enlightened path, and is advised by her Buddhist priest to consider her actions. He’d previously told her she must try to avoid being transactional – which is the very nature of her life, and therefore impossible to avoid.
• After the Olympic bid, in the penultimate episode, through a series of scenes between different characters, Prince’s next move is revealed – and it’s a big one, which has been carefully set up, for us and the characters. No spoilers, unless you want to read The New York Times recap here.
• Prince’s side of the vendetta is not only to beat Chuck but to eliminate him from the board entirely. To this end he sets him up to be removed as AG (for abuse of power, which honestly feels legit) in a special senate hearing … just as Chuck is on the verge of scoring a major victory against Prince.
• And in the season finale, there is an “expensive game of chicken” in which Chuck illegally procures computer drives he is convinced contain billions in crypto currency. If he’s right, Prince goes down. If he’s wrong, Chuck goes straight to jail without passing go. Refer back to the EW comment: “It’s always a blast to watch the whole tower of cards come crashing down, creating chaos leading into the next season.” The final scene is an unexpected sucker punch, good or bad, depending which side you’re on.

All episodes of Billions Seasons 1-6 are now streaming on Showmax. Season 7 can’t come soon enough.

For more billionaires behaving badly, watch Succession (there’s a new season coming this year), Industry and Devils.