What is it? Billions, Season 1, 12 episodes on four discs from Showtime Entertainment
How much? $42.99
When? Now
Billions of what? Dollars.
Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Damian Lewis) is a self-made billionaire who worked his way up from a working-class childhood to become head of a hugely successful hedge fund, Axe Capital.
But he has never forgotten where he came from, and he's well-known and well-loved for his generous nature, giving huge gifts to police and fire departments, helping old friends and neighbors and giving scholarships to the children of his co-workers who died in the 9/11 attacks.
He has a supportive wife, Lara (Malin Akerman), who has a similar background, two healthy kids, and more money and power than most people could dream of.
But he does have secrets. His wealth hasn't all come from honest means. And as the series begins, he has a new enemy.
Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) came from a wealthy family, with a father who's part of the high-finance world. He's the ambitious (and masochistic) U.S. attorney. When he receives information that Axe is involved in insider trading and other not-so-legal activities, he's hesitant to act.
Axe is a folk hero, and Rhoades is very proud of his 100 percent success rate. Also, Rhoades' psychiatrist wife (Maggie Siff) is the in-house performance coach at Axe Capital.
But it doesn't take long for him to be goaded into acting. What follows is a long chess game between two brilliant, ambitious and ruthless men who want little more than to take each other down.
What's it like? Pretty interesting really. The financial world might seem dull on the surface, or may bring up unpleasant thoughts of old economics courses, but the series makes it all understandable and downright exciting.
It's not as simple as good versus evil. Both men are very flawed, but both also have their good points.
And their wives have important roles to play as well, particularly Wendy Rhoades, who straddles both worlds.
All the characters are multi-faceted and the whole season builds up to a major showdown between two titans who are ready to tear each other apart.
Bonus? There are several featurettes on financial world slang, the complex natures of the characters and location shooting in New York.
New this week: Lou Grant, Season 3; Mystery Science Theater 3000, XXXVII; Poldark, Season 2; Sam Benedict, complete series.
Next week: A Chef's Life, Season 4; Doctor Who, Villains Gift Set; House of Lies, Season 5.
Style on 11/20/2016