Showtime makes Billions

US premium cable channel Showtime has picked up a 12-part drama set in the world of high finance.

Billions will follow the clash of two big business heavyweights, a politically savvy US Attorney, Chuck Rhoades, and an ambitious hedge fund king, Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod. Actor Paul Giamatti (Sideways, left) will play Rhoades and Damian Lewis (Homeland, below right) plays Axe.

Expert financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big to Fail) wrote and executive produces along with Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean’s Thirteen).

“Andrew Ross Sorkin, one of the preeminent financial journalists of our time, has joined forces with Brian Koppelman and David Levien, two of Hollywood’s most accomplished screenwriters, to tackle an incredibly timely and buzzy subject,” said Showtime president David Nevins.

“With this caliber of writing and acting, I think the show’s authenticity and insider look will have great appeal to a discerning audience.”

Shooting begins in New York later this year, with the series slated for a 2016 premiere.

Director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) directed a pilot, and is now an executive producer.

CBS Studios International, another subsidiary of Showtime Networks parent CBS Corp., has worldwide distribution rights.

Showtime recently launched outside of the US for the first time after an agreement with Bell Media. Showtime blocks will run on Canadian specialty channel The Movie Network and SVOD platform Crave.