Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | May 2 - 8, 2020 By Dana Simpson TV Media F asten your seatbelts for another year of dollars and deceit. "Billions," Showtime's most provoc- ative corporate drama, returns for its fifth season on Sunday, May 3, and fans of the show can't wait to see more of their favorite fictional billionaires as they scheme and slither their way to the top of the Wall Street food chain. The Season 5 trailer, which was released earlier this year, introduces viewers to a whole new set of power dynam - ics and betrayal, making it evi- dent that the fifth year of this captivating show is amping up the drama from the get-go. The 12-episode season will be released in two parts this year, due to filming complications caused by the coronavirus pan- demic. The first seven episodes will air starting this week, and the show will take a break mid- June at a natural point in the story arc. At this stage, there is no way to know when the sec - ond part of the season will air, but the much-anticipated re- maining episodes will be filmed and released as soon as the pro- duction process is safe to re- sume. In the meantime, Part 1 of the season continues to follow duel- ing New York City high-society members Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti, "Sideways," 2004) and Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Da- mian Lewis, "Band of Brothers") as they try to take each other down in a grueling game of cat and mouse. Providing more twists and turns than a Shakespearean pro- duction, Chuck and Axe have been on a collision course with one another since 2016. From Chuck getting a tip about insid- er trading and Axe's subsequent disappearance in Season 1 to the two men going head to head in court in Season 3, it appears the billionaires will squabble over just about anything from money and business to women and politics. Just when it seemed they would band together to form an alliance — especially with Axe's focus now more clearly aimed at the destruction of Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon, "Orange Is the New Black") and her company — Chuck and Axe are once again pitted against each other as Season 5 will feature a new player, Michael Prince (Corey Stoll, "House of Cards"), who joins their high-stakes — and, quite honestly, exhausting — game. At the end of Season 4, "Bil- lions" co-creator David Levien told Entertainment Weekly a bit about the fate of Chuck and Axe: "When we thought of bring- ing them together, we didn't know exactly when they would start to be at odds again," Levi- en said. "We just knew two men with these qualities, this alpha dog mentality, that a peace and alliance could never last forev- er." With the arrival of this new threat to Axe and his company, Axe Capital (AxeCap for short), Chuck appears to have a plan in the works — because when does he not? — but all the alli- ances that have been crafted over the past four years are like- ly to fall apart as companies lose money, employees and power. Now, a newcomer to the feud (and the series), Chuck's friend, Prof. Catherine "Cat" Brant (Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"), expresses her con- cern that his quest for domi- nance has gotten out of hand. Amid triple crosses, double agents and a single common goal, things begin to get "trib- al," and every player involved in this corporate chess game will quickly begin to realize who is the king and who is a pawn. It's not just the kings at play in the business game, either. Taylor, who has been fighting to keep her firm together and pull away from Axe, will have to make some serious adjustments as she is forced back to work at AxeCap, while Wendy (Maggie Siff, "Sons of Anarchy"), who had just spent the day at a closed-course recreational de- molition site with Rebecca (Nina Arianda, "Goliath") venting her frustrations and "moving earth," can't avoid her prob- lems forever as she anxiously awaits the medical board's deci- sion on her case. Throughout all of this, Rebecca finds herself a pawn in Axe's game as she is blindsided in the boardroom and realizes that he purposefully orchestrated her de- molition day with Wendy to suit his needs so that he could broker a deal and liquidate Saler's De- partment Stores — a company Rebecca was very fond of — be- hind her back. As Rebecca shares her feelings with Axe and leaves the office, she has Axe (and view- ers) wondering whether she will be back for another round. To top off all of the excite- ment, with rumors of Wendy branching out on her own, creat- ing new connections and incit- ing some tension between her and Chuck, some fans of the show are wondering if Axe will finally make a romantic move on Wendy — did anyone else catch that slow rise in sexual tension? And, although Chuck always seems to have a plan in motion, could Season 5 find him finally losing steam? Will this new bil- lionaire, Prince, overshadow one of the leading men for good? So many questions, and the only way to find out what really hap- pens is to tune in. After all, things on Wall Street really can change in a New York minute. The first seven episodes of "Billions" Season 5 kick off Sun - day, May 3, on Showtime. Julianna Margulies as seen in "Billions" A few billion more: Wall Street gets a new Prince in Season 5 of 'Billions' 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

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