#Why is Damian Lewis leaving Billions, Bobby Axelrod after season 5 finale?

Why is Damian Lewis leaving Billions following the season 5 finale? We’ll be the first to admit that despite all we saw tonight, we thought that we’d be seeing him back as Bobby Axelrod. He’s such an enormous part of the show, and we never thought ANYTHING would keep this character from his empire in New York.

However, that is precisely what is happening. Tonight, Showtime officially confirmed that Lewis is leaving the show, with it marking the second series on the network that he’s done this with after Homeland. Axe is now in Switzerland and judging from tonight’s ending, we have to assume now that this is where he will stay.

Meanwhile, it looks as though Corey Stoll’s character of Mike Prince is ready to jump full-on into the role previously occupied by Axe, as he made a big move during the finale to take over his company.

The news of Lewis’ exit was first confirmed by an interview in the New York Times, and it does sound as though there is a road for the character to potentially return down the road. As for the reasoning behind the departure, it’s as simple as the actor was ready to move forward creatively; also, he wishes to spend more time in his home city of London with his children following the passing of his wife earlier this year. That is certainly understandable, especially as travel was made all the more difficult due to the global health crisis. (Billions films in New York City, but the crew accommodated Lewis by shooting at least some of his scenes remotely in the second part of the season.)

It’s also not going to be an easy transition into season 6, given that so much of Chuck Rhoades the character was driven by Bobby Axelrod. Yet, we’ll see how things pan out. We’ll miss Damian Lewis very much, but we’re grateful for years worth of awesome TV here.

Related – Here is when season 6 will premiere

Are you shocked that Damian Lewis is leaving Billions after the season 5 finale?

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