It's all about supply and demand.
After departing Billions at the end of season five, Damian Lewis shocked a live audience with the news that he would be returning as Bobby Axelrod for season seven of the Showtime drama.
"Bobby's back, he's coming back," Lewis confirmed to Stephen Colbert during his Feb. 27 appearance on The Late Show. "He's not been around for a couple seasons, but he's back."
The premium network further confirmed the Homeland alum's return Feb. 28, adding that Lewis will appear in half of the upcoming season's 12 episodes, with production currently underway in New York.
"In season seven, alliances are turned on their heads," Showtime teased. "Old wounds are weaponized. Loyalties are tested. Betrayal takes on epic proportions. Enemies become wary friends. And Bobby Axelrod returns, as the stakes grow from Wall Street to the world."
Lewis' return comes just a few weeks after Showtime announced four new Billions spinoffs in development—Millions, Trillions, Billions: London and Billions: Miami.
The actor, who starred opposite Paul Giamatti, Maggie Siff and David Costabile on the ensemble drama, initially left the show in October 2021 following the season five finale.
"It's difficult to keep mining, creatively," he admitted to The New York Times of his decision to leave. "We know who he is."
The last we saw Axe, he went into hiding in order to avoid jailtime. However, amid his departure, Lewis didn't fully close the door on stepping into the hedge fund manager's designer shoes once more.
"There's an opportunity maybe for me to return," the actor noted. "But for now, broadly speaking, Axe has been vanquished."
See Damian Lewis re-enter the chat in Billions season seven, later in 2023 on Showtime.