They had me at Giamatti and Lewis.
Billions, Showtime's new drama about power politics and high finance, debuts at 9 p.m. today. It's the premium cable version of a page-turner.
The series stars Emmy winners Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis as powerful men on a collision course. It's a delight to watch these two ply their craft.
Lewis earned his Emmy playing Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody in the Showtime series Homeland, but fans loved his performance in Band of Brothers, and as King Henry VIII in the recent Wolf Hall.
In Billions, Lewis portrays the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod, who is living the American dream, rising from humble blue-collar beginnings to the heights of New York high finance.
Giamatti was awarded an Emmy for the title role in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams. He also was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for the film Cinderella Man. He also drew high marks for American Splendor, Sideways and as the immoral slave trader Theophilus Freeman in 12 Years a Slave.
In Billions, Giamatti plays shrewd and ruthless U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Chuck Rhoades. Born into privilege, the Ivy League-educated Rhoades is the polar opposite of Axelrod and has made his reputation taking on "slam-dunk" cases against wealthy businessmen who attempt to buy their way past the law.
Despite his obvious power, Rhoades is overshadowed by his highly paid, successful wife, Wendy (Maggie Siff), an in-house psychiatrist and performance coach at Axe Capital, and by his well-connected father.
Rhoades, therefore, not only has daddy issues, but is in a sort of in-home psychological power struggle with his wife.
Wendy has a strong working relationship with Axelrod, but all that is jeopardized once her husband begins sniffing around Axelrod's financial dealings.
Adding an earthier dimension is Malin Akerman as Bobby's icy blond, protective wife, Lara. As with Bobby, she also comes from a lower-class background, but despite her wealth, she still retains her rougher edges when provoked.
During much of the first episode, viewers are left to wonder whether what we are seeing is an accurate reflection of the characters. Is Axelrod as altruistic as he seems? Is the calculating Rhoades a crusader for the people, or a vainglorious narcissist? For whom do we root?
The foundation is established for an epic contest of alpha males, one which promises to be well worth watching.
"It's kings in their kingdoms; it's chiefs in their chiefdoms," Lewis said on CBS This Morning recently. "It's about wealth, political power and financial power and what are these guys prepared to do to retain that power."
• Angie Tribeca. TBS has a new police parody that's getting quite the star-studded launch party at 8 p.m. today.
Angie Tribeca stars Rashida Jones (The Office, Parks and Recreation), Hayes MacArthur (Life as We Know It), Jere Burns (Justified, Breaking Bad) and Deon Cole (black-ish). It's a spoof that'll remind many of a combination of Airplane, Get Smart and Naked Gun.
Created by Steve and Nancy Carell, the series follows a squad of Los Angeles police detectives who investigate the most serious cases, "from the murder of a ventriloquist to a rash of baker suicides."
Jones plays the title role, a maverick detective who is not pleased to be partnered with detective J Geils, played by MacArthur. Burns plays the squad's captain, the poster boy for apoplexy.
Helping solve each case are detective Danny Tanner (Cole); quirky medical examiner Dr. Monica Scholls (Andree Vermeulen, Upright Citizens Brigade); and Hoffman, Tanner's German shepherd partner (played by Jagger, Max).
The series gets started with a "Binge-A-Thon," 25 hours of commercial-free Angie Tribeca episodes. That's 10 episodes played five times in a row. There will be live comedy between segments featuring the cast, the Carells, and TBS stars Conan O'Brien, Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Natalie Zea, Iliza Shlesinger and more.
Season 2 is already on order.
• New PBS miniseries Mercy Street debuts at 9 p.m. today on AETN. Based on real events behind the front lines of the Civil War, the six-episode drama explores the world of the Mansion House Hospital in Union-occupied Alexandria, Va.
• War and Peace. The six-episode epic miniseries (in partnership with the BBC) premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on Lifetime, A&E and History -- a triple whammy.
The large cast includes Lily James (Cinderella, Downton Abbey), Paul Dano (12 Years a Slave), James Norton (Happy Valley), Gillian Anderson (The X Files) and Jim Broadbent (Iris).
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 01/17/2016