‘Succession’ Star Brian Cox Says Showtime’s ‘Billions’ Is “Past Its Sell-By Date”

deadline.com:

After helping Succession creator Jesse Armstrong avoid a Royal faux pas at the Emmys last night, the HBO show’s star may have committed one of his own per Hollywood’s unspoken etiquette.Brian Cox was asked by the Times of London about a potential fifth season for the hit show, which last night won Best Drama from the TV Academy.“I don’t know,” Cox responded. “No one’s had their contracts renewed.

Who knows how long it will go on? We don’t want it to overstay its welcome, like [Showtime’s] Billions; that’s past its sell-by date.

That will not happen with our show.”Beyond the HBO-Showtime schadenfreude, Cox’s plainspoken appraisal of another show — especially one fronted by an actor as well-regarded as Paul Giamatti — goes against the (outwardly) genial stance most take in Hollywood.

But Cox is not one to hold his tongue.In his 2021 memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, the actor called Johnny Depp “overblown…overrated,” Ed Norton “a pain in the arse,” Steven Seagal “as ludicrous in real life as he appears on screen” and characterized Quentin Tarantino’s films as “all surface.