Damian Lewis will return to Billions for the series’ seventh season as Bobby Axelrod, who last appeared on the show in Season 5. The news comes as Toney Goins’ character, Philip Charyn, becomes a series regular on the Showtime series.

According to a recent Deadline report, Lewis will return to the drama series during its Season 7 premiere later this year. “Bobby’s back. Axe is back, and it’s exciting,” Lewis revealed to Stephen Colbert during his appearance on The Late Show. “He’s not been around for a couple of seasons.” After his departure in Season 5, Lewis (who stars in the upcoming limited series, A Spy Among Friends (2023), will return to the series for its first half, appearing in Episodes 1–6, which is set to premiere later this year.

Lewis’s original departure from the show came after family tragedy. Lewis, who played the fictional CEO of a multimillion dollar hedge fund, Axe Capital, since the show’s premiere in 2016, left the series after the unfortunate death of his wife, actress Helen McCrory (Harry Potter, Peaky Blinders), in 2021. Lewis announced his departure from the show via an Instagram post, where he thanked showrunners David Levien (Runner Runner, Runaway Jury) and Brian Koppelman (Ocean’s Thirteen, Super Pumped) for the experience. “A pleasure and a privilege to play Axe for 5 seasons with some of the smartest, funniest, most talented cast and crew I’ve worked with. I’ll miss the Billions family. Yep, some jobs are more than just a job… Love.”

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Image via Showtime

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Goins, who first appeared in the series last year, is also set to become a regular on the show. Goins plays math whiz Philip Charyn, who made his debut on the show in Season 6, Episode 5 when he joined Mike Prince Capital (MPC). Goins, who first began his acting career in an Off-Broadway production of Toni Stone in 2018, is best known for his roles as Benji in Cherry (2021) and Ronnie Baxter in For Life (2020–2021).

The 'Billions' Universe Is Expanding

Billions is Showtime’s longest-running show. The New York and Connecticut-based drama centres on hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (Lewis), whom finds himself the target of United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) thanks to his illegal and aggressive tactics. A seventh season of the series was ordered less than a fortnight ago, with production already underway in New York. Several spin-offs, including Millions and Trillions, are in the works.

The series stars Lewis, Giamatti, Corey Stoll, Maggie Siff, Sakina Jaffrey, Asia Kate Dillon, David Costabile, Condola Rashad, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Daniel Breaker, with Koppelman, Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin as creators.

Season 7 does not currently have a release date; however, all six seasons of Billions are currently streaming on Showtime. Check out Lewis in the trailer for A Spy Among Friends below: