Billions cashed in big with its Season 2 finale, with the Sunday night episode outperforming both the Season 1 finale and the Season 2 premiere.
According to Nielsen data, the Season 2 finale drew in an estimated 1.02 million viewers, airing at 10 p.m. on Showtime. The season premiere averaged 753,000 viewers in its initial airing, meaning this season’s finale improved on the premiere by 35%. It also managed to edge out the Season 1 finale, which drew 1.01 million viewers back in April 2016. Across multiple airings, the Season 2 finale managed 1.32 million viewers for the night. Based on eight weeks of available data, the second season is averaging 4.6 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms.
This season of the critically-acclaimed series picked up shortly after the events of the explosive Season 1 finale. U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and hedge fund king Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis) will stop at nothing to settle their personal war. But both men will have to contend with serious troubles, both internal and external, before they can bring their battle to a close. Axelrod finds himself locked in a deal in upstate New York with no way out, while Rhoades begins a push for elected office that could see all his dark secrets laid bare.
The series also stars Maggie Siff, Malin Akerman, Toby Leonard Moore, David Costabile, Condola Rashad, and Jeffrey DeMunn. Brian Koppelman and David Levien co-created the series and serve as executive producers and showrunners. Andrew Ross Sorkin also created and executive produces the series.
