'Succession' Vs. 'Billions': Which Show Will Come Out On Top?

Who doesn’t like reading or watching a TV show or movie about rich people behaving badly?

In the 1980s, there was “Dynasty,” the ‘90s revelled in “Absolutely Fabulous,” the aughts had “Gossip Girl” and “Arrested Development," and early-to-mid part of the next decade saw “Revenge” and “Empire.”

It is still a matter of debate on how wealthy the denizens of “The Real Housewives” are.

Today’s streaming giants in the rich-people-behaving-badly department are “Billions,” which hit the screens from Showtime — owned by ViacomCBS Inc VIAC — in 2015 and just finished season 5, and “Succession,” an HBO show that started in 2018, and on Sunday night, will debut its much-anticipated season 3. HBO is part of WarnerMedia and is owned by AT&T Inc. T.

Which is the better show? It’s a debate served up on social media and articles all the time. So, let’s check a few things out.

Season 1, Episode 1—Setting the Scene: While many TV shows have had intense kick-offs — think of “Breaking Bad” or “Lost” — the winner in this match-up would be the S&M couple (no spoilers!) in “Billions.” While concentrating on the bondage, don’t forget that it acts as a metaphor for the rest of the show.

In the first episode of “Succession,” the opening scene of aging billionaire Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is of him peeing, which could also act as a metaphor for how he treats his family and how they treat each other and the people around them. Alas, the first episode is slow, as is the second, which seems to be the consensus of people I asked about it. But stay with it, the show gets better.

Wags vs. Cousin Greg: Every show has to have a character that you love to hate, or hate to love. Or neither, you just get a kick out of them. These two very different characters capture the zeitgeist of each show.

“Billions” actor David Costabile embodies Wags, short for Mike Wagner, the COO of Axe Capital and the right-hand man of CEO Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Damian Lewis). Wags is the id of the show, saying what he thinks at any given moment while intertwining ass-kissing at the same time. He’s amoral but funny. You don’t want to laugh, but you do.

“Succession’s” Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), is goofy and awkward, someone who the Roy family thinks is dumb and easily manipulated. There might be one exception — stay with me — Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), who married Roy’s daughter Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Sarah Snook).

The Cousin Greg/Tom dynamic is almost co-dependent. But does Tom know more than we do? Prediction: The show’s finale will have Cousin Greg owning it all, with Tom as his right-hand man.

The winner? It’s a tie. It’s just too hard to pick between the two as they are oddly endearing.

Unrequited Love, Maybe: In the season 5 finale, Axe asks his company’s performance coach, former psychiatrist Wendy Rhodes (Maggie Siff) to go into exile. She refuses, staying in the U.S. for her children.

Ever since season 1, fans have always sensed a love affair in the wings, despite him being married at that time to Lara Axlerod (Malin Akerman) and Wendy to Axe’s nemesis, U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes (Paul Giamatti). Will she join Axe? Or will they pine for each other from afar?

In the recent teasers for “Succession,” HBO pairs up the cast. The one creating the biggest stir is Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) being circled like a shark by his business rival and “friend” Stewy Hosseini (Arian Moayad). Twitter went wild with speculation. Could they actually move from being just friends to something more?

While many are hoping for the Kendall/Stewy pairing, the more dramatic one would be Wendy and Axe, because if she does go, there is no coming back. (Do you think Chuck would take this well?) But, then again, Kendall and Stewy would make a great power couple. It’s a tie.

Is The Financial Maneuvering Realistic? I guess that depends on where you work and knowledge of uber-wealthy families.

The boardroom battles, hostile takeovers and backstabbing amongst business rivals, friends and family — historically, enduring plot points based on real-life incidents — are what make both shows so popular. But the winner here is … “Succession,” with Kendall’s betrayal of Logan. When season three kicks off on Sunday night, the aftermath of this betrayal will no doubt be riveting.

First non-binary character in a major TV role: In “Billions,” Asia Kate Dillon portrays Taylor Mason, the first major non-binary character in an American show. The actress is also non-binary, and for the LGBTQ community, it’s important to have mainstream visibility of a cisgender actor portraying a trans character on a TV show.

Taylor starts out as Axe’s protégé, with their professional relationship falling apart. Taylor founds their own company — and the evolution of the Axe/Taylor rivalry is fascinating to watch.

While it may seem that “Billions” is the winner in this contest, despite two ties between the shows, it is really hard to say definitively. But it will sure be interesting to check into the “Succession” season premiere to see where the plot heads.

Maybe Logan will join Axe overseas?

Photo: Brian Cox as Logan Roy in "Succession" from HBO; Damian Lewis as Bobby "Axe" Axlerod in "Billions" from Showtime.