Showtime’s got a new series in the works that’s well worth keeping an eye on called Billions.  It’s being described as a complex, contemporary drama that digs deep into the world of high finance.  Neil Burger (Divergent) is locked to direct the pilot early next year in New York using a script penned by Brian Koppelman, David Levien and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis will star as the show’s two main characters, a U.S. attorney and a hedge fund titan, respectively.  Hit the jump for more on Showtime’s Billions.

neil-burger-billions

According to the press release, Lewis and Giamatti’s characters are both “titanic figures” within the finance industry.  Giamatti’s U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes is the “hard charging, whip-smart” type while Lewis’ Bobby "Axe" Axelrod is a “brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king.”

This will be Burger and Giamatti’s first collaboration since 2006’s The Illusionist, which was also produced by Koppelman.  And then of course Billions will mark Lewis’ return to Showtime after wrapping his three-season run on Homeland.

The pilot episode isn’t expected to go into production until early next year, but all three guys have things to keep them busy in the meantime, and that’s on top of the pre-production required for this.  Lewis has the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall coming up as well as a couple of film projects that are reportedly in post-production.  Giamatti is currently shooting the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton while Burger is continuing on with the Divergent franchise as an executive producer on the series’ second film, Insurgent.