Billions gets second season

US cable net Showtime has given buzzy drama Billions a second season order.

The show, which stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti and is set in the world of high-finance, was the best ever launch for premium net Showtime with 6.5 million viewers, beating Ray Donovan, which debuted with 6.1 million.

Showtime is owned by CBS, which last week inked an extensive programming deal with Sky, giving the European pay TV operator all of Showtime’s content for its Sky Atlantic channels across Europe.