Ask me what the best TV news could be and I can announce it: Julianna Margulies is joining the cast of Showtime’s “Billions” for its fifth season. She’s going to play Catherine Brant, an Ivy League sociology professor and bestselling author.
Corey Stoll is also joining the show as Michael Prince, a billionaire from Indiana. This is also good news. Showtime is obviously paying for talent.
Julianna’s character will likely be a romantic partner for Damien Lewis’s Bobby Axelrod. I’m sorry if that means Nina Arianda’s gone, but Bobby really destroyed their relationship last season. Arianda should have gotten an Emmy award, but Showtime can’t seem to get any accolades for this great, great show. It’s the weirdest mystery of the Emmys: why some shows are just removed from the running with no explanation. “The Wire” was the same way.
I ran into Margulies a couple of weeks ago when she co-hosted Project ALS with Ben Stiller. She really had no immediate plans when we spoke, so this must be a new deal. She’s one of our best actresses, and I can’t wait to see her on my guilty pleasure show.
