The new season of Billions currently airing on Showtime will be the last in the series. The show, set in New York City, is a financial criminal drama that centers on U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades’ (Paul Giamatti) pursuit of hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). The cast of characters also includes Michael Prince (Corey Stoll) and Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff), among others. Season 7 sees the return of Lewis’ character, who was absent from the previous season. New episodes air on Paramnount+ on Friday evenings and on Showtime on Sundays. Read on to discover the Billions NYC film locations used in the new season!
1. Midtown
Maggie Siff as Wendy Rhoades in BILLIONS, “Tower of London”. Photo Credit: Christopher T. Saunders/SHOWTIME.
Episode 1 starts with an explosive scene inside the office of Michael Prince Capital where we see a violent outburst from Prince himself. A title card then takes us back 5 months earlier and we’re with Wendy Rhoades as she struts through midtown Manhattan. On her walk we see her pass by the newly renovated Textile Building at 295 Fifth Ave on her way to the MPC Capital offices.
2. Thurgood Marshall Courthouse
(L-R): Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades and Ben Shenkman as Ira Schirmer in BILLIONS, “Tower of London”. Photo Credit: Patrick Harbron/SHOWTIME.
There are many popular New York City restaurants featured in the first episode. The first we see is Primola, an Italian spot on the Upper East Side, where Rhoades meets his family for a not-so-pleasant dinner. Wendy leaves early for a business dinner at Wo-Hop with Mike Wagner (David Costabile). The legendary Chinatown restaurant used to be open 24/7, but since COVID they have operated on more limited hours. Wendy next hits Joe’s Pizza on Carmine Street, a staple of Greenwich Village since 1975. The last restaurant we see in this episode is Sant Ambroues, an Italian restaurant on Madison Avenue.
4. Federal Hall
Chuck has a run-in with Daevisha Mahar (Sakina Jaffrey) and a squad of troopers in front of Federal Hall. At the corner of Wall and Nassau Street, with Trinity Church in the background, Mahar airs her grievances. She also points out that Federal Hall is where George Washington took the oath of office. At Federal Hall today, you can still see a piece of the balcony he stood on at his inauguration, and the Bible used in the ceremony.
5. The Tower of London
Damian Lewis as Bobby “Axe” Axelrod in BILLIONS “Tower of London”. Photo Credit: Laurence Cendrowicz/SHOWTIME.
Episode 1 ends with a trip across the pond to London where Wendy, Wagner, and Taylor Mason (Asia Kate Dillon) are reunited with Bobby Axelrod. Wendy calls on Axe to help the team stop Prince from ruining the company they built and stop him from ruining the country as president. We see the cast gathered at the foot of the Tower of London, with the shimmering Tower Bridge stretching across the Thames in the background. The Tower of London was originally constructed by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. It’s been expanded upon throughout the centuries and is home to the Royal Crown Jewels.
Episode 2
6. Raby Castle
Damian Lewis as Bobby “Axe” Axelrod in BILLIONS, “Original Sin”. Photo Credit: David Gennard/SHOWTIME.
In Episode 2, we are treated to a sweeping flyover of the literal castle Axelrod has been hiding out in. This stunning place is Raby Castle, a medieval castle built in the 14th century just two hours south of the border of Scotland. The grand home is set against a vast expanse of green lawns and is partially surrounded by a moat. The interiors used in the show don’t seem to match those of images of the rooms inside the castle, so they may have been filmed in another location.
7. Park Slope
We return to Chuck Rhoades’ Brooklyn townhouse in episode 2, a set we’ve seen many times in previous seasons. The establishing shot puts viewers on the corner of Beverly Place and 8th Avenue in Park Slope, though Rhoade’s address in the show is 49 Pierrepont Street which would be in Brooklyn Heights. The actual exterior film location for the townhouse is at 49 8th Avenue, an 8-bedroom, 5-bathroom townhouse that last sold in 2010 for $2.691 million.
8. The Dead Rabbit
We meet up with Chuck later in the episode at the bar The Dead Rabbit. The bar occupies a former 19th-century townhouse in Lower Manhattan. Its name comes from that of an Irish gang in 1800s New York City led by bare-knuckle boxer turned congressman and senator John Morrissey. Their chief adversary was the Bowery Boys gang. The bar pays homage to the Irish heritage of the area, describing itself as a place that is “fiercely Irish with an American accent.”
9. The Back Room
Mafee and “Dollar” Bill Stearn unexpectedly run into each other at The Back Room, one of Manhattan’s most popular hidden bars. Patrons enter the bar today the same way they would during the 1920s when the bar operated as a Prohibition-era speakeasy. You walk past the storefront of the Lower East Side Toy Company and down an alley until you arrive at the door. Inside, drinks are served in teacups.
10. Peter Luger’s Steakhouse
Chuck Rhoades and Adam Deguilio (Rob Morrow) dig into a hearty meal at this historic Williamsburg restaurant. Known for its no credit card policy and high-quality cuts, the restaurant is one of the oldest in New York City. It first opened in 1887 as Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley. Carl, who was Peter Luger’s nephew, ran the kitchen. After Luger’s death, the restaurant was auctioned off and bought by Sol Forman, a neighboring business owner. Since 1950, the restaurant has been run by the Forman family and has since earned a Michelin star.
Episode 3
11. Harry’s
1 Hanover seen in the background
In the opening sequence of Episode 3, we see Wags flash a gold card at Harry’s. This bar and restaurant at 1 Hanover Square has been a staple of the Financial District since 1972 when it was founded by a husband and wife team. The restaurant is housed within a stunning Italian Renaissance Revival building originally constructed as Hanover Bank in the mid-1800s. After the bank left, the building was used as the New York Cotton Exchange, and later most famously as the site of Inda House, a private club for businessmen in foreign trade. Its name was a nod to the Dutch West Inda Company. India House recently sold their historic property and office spaces inside are expected to be available soon.
12. Grant’s Tomb & Gould Memorial Library
(L-R): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as himself and Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades in BILLIONS, “Winston Dick Energy”. Photo Credit: Christopher T. Saunders/SHOWTIME.
Towards the end of the episode, Chuck is summoned to the footsteps of Grant’s Tomb, the largest mausoleum in North America. He laments about having to “haul it all the way up to 122nd.” While the exterior establishing shot is of Grant’s Tomb in Morningside Heights, the interior is a set built within the rotunda of another historic building, The Gould Memorial Library (which is even further north at Bronx Community College). The real interior of Grant’s Tomb is clad in neutral marble and granite, but this set looks drastically different. The Gould Memorial Library has towering green marble columns with golden Corinthian tops, stained glass windows, and a golden-domed ceiling. The structure was designed by the noted architect Stanford White as the crown jewel of the campus. Untapped New York Insiders recently got to go inside the building, which is usually off-limits to the public. Check out the hidden Guastavino vault we saw in the basement!
Stay tuned for more locations as more episodes air!
