English actor Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Dreamcatcher) just confirmed he will make his return to the critically acclaimed drama, Billions. According to Deadline, Lewis would officially come back and reprise his role as Bobby Axelrod for the show’s seventh season. It was announced that he will star in six of the 12 episodes season seven would have. Many are joyfully surprised that they will see Lewis come back to the show when this season airs later this year.
With the popularity and fandom surrounding the award-winning actor, it was no surprise to some that he would make headlines when he came out with the news on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. While speaking with him, Lewis told Colbert that “Bobby’s Back” when Colbert brought up the show and Lewis’ character. Although there was not much discussion on the show about further details, Lewis did point out, “Axe is back, and it’s exciting. He’s not been around for a couple of seasons.”
The last time the character Bobby Axelrod appeared on the Showtime drama series Billions was in the season five finale. At that point in time, he escapes to Switzerland after almost being arrested by his rival, Chuck Rhoades played by Paul Giamatti (12 Years a Slave, Cinderella Man). That season ended in the fall of 2021 with twelve episodes with ranges of 7.3/10 to 8.7/10 on IMDb.
The series first premiered on the TV network Showtime in early 2016 and was a massive hit. It was created by Brian Koppelman (Tilt, The Game) & David Levien (The Girlfriend Experience, Super Pumped) along with Andrew Ross Sorkin. Koppelman and Levien also serve as the main writers and co-showrunners. Via. Deadline. Beth Schacter also serves as showrunner and an executive producer.They produced the show after Showtime ordered the series and gave it the green light. The TV network was then obtained by Paramount in 2023 via. Deadline.
Billions is about a hedge fund manager named Bobby Axelrod who is targeted by United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades due to his unethical, illegal, and aggressive business practices. According to Showtime, their most recent season highlights Lewis’ departure from the series, “As Mike Prince takes his place on the Axe Cap throne, Chuck Rhoades is determined that no one should have that much wealth – or that much power. With stakes higher than ever, all the power players seek out new alliances as kingdom goes up against kingdom.”
Besides Lewis and Giamati, the regular cast for Billions consists of Maggie Siff (Sons of Anarchy, You Must Remember This) as Wendy Rhoades, David Costabile (Breaking Bad, Lincoln) as Mike ‘Wags’ Wagner, Condola Rashad (Smash, The Prince) as Kate Sacker, Daniel K. Issac (The Other Two, Mercy Mistress) as Ben Kim, Dan Soder (Intra Quest, Trainwreck) as Mafee, Asia Kate Dillon (Orange Is the New Black, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) as Taylor Mason, Jeffrey DeMunn (The Green Mile, The Hitcher) as Chuck Rhoades, Sr., and Kelly AuCoin (The Americans, The Sterling Affairs) as ‘Dollar’ Bill Stearn.
The reason cited for Lewis to leave the critically acclaimed show after the fifth season was personal. According to Deadline, his wife, actress Helen McCrory (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Peaky Blinders), passed away in April of 2021 due to cancer. Lewis wanted to focus his time on his two children he had with the late actress. He addressed his departure on twitter a while back when the season five finale just aired: “Thank you @SHO_Billions thank you @briankoppelman @DavidLevien. A pleasure and a privilege to play Axe for 5 seasons with some of the smartest, funniest most talented cast and crew I’ve worked with. I’ll miss the Billions family. Yep, some jobs are more than just a job…. Love”.
With a loss of one of the leading main characters of the show, many would question if it would feel the same. It was not a surprise that the most recent season hit lower than average ratings. Regardless, the show itself is ranked very high on Rotten Tomatoes with an overall rating of 91% and on IMDb at 8.4/10. To this day, it is still one of Showtime’s longest running shows according to Variety.
With the announcement comes a bittersweet return for the actor considering how season seven would be the final one of the entire series. Production began in New York City back in November 2022. According to Deadline, the final season would see many twists and turns, including alliances, greed, and the return of Bobby Axelrod. There is no definitive release date of Billions season seven, but fans speculate that it will premiere sometime in early to mid 2023. The show is available to watch on Showtime and stream it on Paramount+. You can watch Lewis’ announcement down below.