The first season probably should have been 6 episodes and not 10 because there is a stretch of episodes in the middle where very little seems to happen. Still, Devils was entertaining enough that I'd say it's worth a watch if the plot summary interests you. Beware, though, that there are some unintentionally funny elements. First, the voice over at the beginning of every episode that talks about the devil is extremely cheesy. It was also hilarious that the main characters are supposed to be brilliant traders, but employ the exact same strategy in every single episode. Seriously, if you take a shot every time they suggest shorting a stock you will be passed out in no time. Finally, the show takes place in 2011 and flashes back to 2001. The problem is the flashbacks are largely built around the Sofia character who, according to the credits is supposed to be 10 in 2001. It makes no sense then why the producers have cast a girl who looks far younger than 10 for the 2001 scenes and an actress in her 30s for the 2011 scenes. I cringed every time they did a flashback because of this.
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somethingreal8118 May 2020
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carolbvarga12 June 2020After a slow start, the character development and story line is gripping. Thought provoking and enjoyable.
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borisared20 May 2020Good show, well made, shows e bankers for what they really are. More things should be done like this to show what these parasites are really up to. To the people compaining about "weird European accents", thanks for showing what you really are
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I really enjoyed this series and found myself wanting to binge watch to find out how the plot ended. The actors were very convincing in their roles as traders in the share markets and the various plot twists kept the narrative interesting. I didn't feel you needed to be an expert in high finance to understand what was going on. It was entertaining and intriguing.
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scstuartcrane24 January 2021It has a flashy appearance, fast cars, technical banking references, smart suits and city views. But there is no soul to this drama, the characters are hard to like and the lead actor is just a bit too wooden.
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nove_beke3 July 2020Great series, first episodes takes some understanding (mainly about trading/banking/currencies). After watching the full series you'll understand the full story. Funny how switch between who's good/bad while watching the series. Not a predictable story, which is nice for a change. Definitely waiting for a second season!
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cjonesas6 June 2021A deep series about the world of (real) finance and behind the scenes (fictional) machinations, with good acting, nice development, but with a horrible flow, near total lack of entertainment and boredom all upon you.
It is one of the very few series where the acting and screenplay are (+), whereas the flow and enjoyment are sub-zero. Sat and sat throughout the 10 episodes, to witness a very unsatisfying ending.
The producers should really consider finishing it here and forget about a more boring second season.- Screenplay/story: 8.5
- Development: 8.5
- Realism: 7.5
- Entertainment: 6
- Acting: 8.5
- Photography/filming: 8.5
- Visuals/special effects: 7
- Music/score: 7
- Depth: 8
- Logic: 6.5
- Flow: 6
- Thrill/drama: 6.5
- Ending: 7.
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This a brilliant series. With a very well chosen international cast. Based on a semi biographical book by a former investment banker, Guido Maria Bera. The characters have depth and the storyline lines jumps perfectly between the personal and the macro dwellings of the world of high finance. Its also a series that sheds light on how the european finantial crisis has in fact a man made catastrophe! Hope to see more of this.
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CRMas0n24 February 2021Even though I struggled to understand a lot of the technical side of the story (I still have no idea what 'shorting stock' means), I did enjoy it in general. The lead actor is very good. I've not seen him in much before but it's worth watching just for him. I would recommend it if you can't find anything else on and you are getting to the end of your box list must see list.
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Johnny_West6 November 2020Boring series about the corrupt and evil world of high finance and banking. This should have been a mini-series at most. Too many of the episodes put in at least 25 minutes of pointless padding that could have been cut. The pace is very slow, and very boring. Watching rich people be pigs is not entertaining.
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npvarley25 May 2020It's about time we had a good series about one of the bankers getting screwed and then deciding to take down his employers.
Alessandro Borghi is one of the best actors on the planet these days. Anyone who has seen him in other productions, such as Suburra, will attest to that. I'm not a big fan of Patrick Dempsey, but he's come a long way since his early days and plays his part with some authority.
The supporting cast does a good job, too. The sense of naked ambition, where people will do anything and everything to ascend the greasy pole, is palpable.
I can thoroughly recommend this series!
Update: The long-awaited Season 3 doesn't disappoint. I binge-watched all 8 episodes in a day! Brilliant! -
For a trading/banking series it shows very limited scenes explaining how they make money and do deals. You may need subtitles if you have trouble with foreign accents at times. After watching this series it makes me appreciate who good Billions is written and edited, easily twice the show. More complex story lines and you care about the characters even if you don't like them. In this series there is nothing memorable. It had so much potential, the lead actor will hopefully be recognized and put in something worthwhile soon.
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fotogrega17 June 2020NO SPOILERS!!!
Well, this is my first review (and english isnt my language, so sorry for any mistakes:)
I frikkin loved it. There were just a few shows that after watchin it, i wanted to watch it again. I havent knew any actor, but Dominic and Massimo did their job right. IT IS a conspiriacy theme show, but i could easily say its based on real events. It is a show, that makes you think and doubt about your daily news. It is a show, for i dont know why it isnt forbiden yet, because alot of stuff was real and happend to all of us.
This just becomed one of my favorite shows😁 For my reference i also really liked : House, Black Adder, Lost (till s3), Carnival, Primeval, Mentalist, Black mirror, Altered Carbon...
This isnt a family show to watch with your wife, gf, bf, but THIS is a show, that will male you think and doubt about some stuff that happens around your life.
Well... i hope this review stays onilne, because if you allowed this show to be made, you can also allow my review. ty, #13floor -
grevin2-76-47359823 May 2020Promising but doesnt get there. a lot of reasons for that. sort of weak writing and not much regarding acting and directing. the main role could be played much better since the Italian is a great actor. and i say that having watched him a lot in other series or films. if you are looking for an excellent financial series watch Bad Banks(its a german one) which in my opinion is excelleng
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insideout0981 December 2020Heroes, villains...those in between. I'm not sure who's who, or what's what, which makes this drama so gripping. It might also help viewers to have some familiarity with banking parlance, because there's a lot of it. In the complex world of high finance where self-anointed billionaire oligarchs control the destiny of nations, one is never sure where the legal line in the sand resides. It's all smoke and mirrors, while dancing on legal razor blades of justice and morality. This series is particularly germane to 2020 and the election fiasco in America. Who's right, who's wrong...who's caught in the crossfire? What's the acceptable collateral damage when weighed against powerful interests with global reach and consequence? I've watched 4 episodes and frankly, I want to throw up, knowing that our system - our global system - is largely corrupt and self-interested. Money is power and power is everything always. Wow. Talk about a reaffirmation of truth.
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harrypickard1 July 2020Good story for adults pretty good cast and a plot with lots of moving parts, and yet hard to watch as its got a way too loud soundtrack, and much dialogue is hard to catch and those lightening flash edits..... like an adult show for tweens and teens to watch... i dont understand could have been awesome
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Ladybbird-269-94514615 July 2020Part truth/ part fiction, based on what actually happened and how some countries in the world can be ruined or controlled by money 'Who needs military or nuclear weapons?' Excellent production in many ways. Actors/Directing and series venues.
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llipsis1 December 2020Ok it's quite interesting. Economic insight. The march of the world. But can someone please stop those emotional flashbacks in slow motion every time one of the characters feels sorry or sad or whatever ? I almost destroyed the fast forward button of my Roku remote to avoid each of them. Thank you.
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elgaucho9118 April 2020Let me just start saying that Alessandro Borghi is a damn fine actor and he really did a lot of work for this role. But the series is just not entertaining: always the same kind of directing for all the scenes not giving contrast or a change of mood. The screenplay doesn't tell a story, it is about a world, the world of finance and that's it. I was bored the first episode, the second was even worse. And let me say that Patrick Dempsey doesn't do a great job. I was hoping this would be the turning point of Borghi's career. Guido Maria Brera doesn't know how to write a film, that's all.
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draper-6472618 April 2020As a big fan of "Billions" I've been looking for a while for some new interesting tv series about the world of finance. After two episodes I can say, without doubt, that "Devils" is immersive, fast paced, intriguing and never banal. The plot is not complicated at all, even for someone who never opened a book of economics. Borghi and Dempsey are a great duo, always living up to expectations, reminding me of another big duo, Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. Let's hope that the next episodes will keep up with the opening of this very promising show.
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What works well is the backdrop of the Bank crises and news. The shots of the city and news clips lift this drama and lift the pacing up.
The characters and plot is superficial, eg; cookie cutter hacker - i.e. 'Ghetto' black youth who magically happens to have superpower hacking skills - (about as realistic as having neuro-surgical skills), intrepid young journalist who works for wikileaks with a backstory, big boss who is scheming and somehow involved in the crises. The lead - a star trader, is unbeliveably leaden and unexpressive while uncovering the dirt.
Yet I can't completely write it off, as its an enjoyable watch for the drama is set against the news timeline and city shots which greatly lift up and add pace to the poor writing, characters and dialogue.
But this is a poor shadow, compared to the excellent 'Bad Banks' which has a similar trading team, but realistic and vicously flawed characters, more rounded and real ethnic characters, in act more realistic all round, with razor sharp written plots and subplots set in a thiny disguised version of Deutshe Bank with wonderful portrayals of corporate psychopaths throughout!
Billions is American pap compared to Bad Banks.It's not a fair comparision to this. -
suripat23 July 2020This series' theme is very appealing, at least to me. Financial markets, conspiracies...all good ingredients for a nice series. But, unfortunately, a confusing script, with weird cinematography, fast cut camera shots and sometimes suspense in the wrong places and also the almost unbearable lack of humanity in the main character makes it impossible to watch this until the end. I mean, the guy behaves like a droid! You will find yourself cheering against the main plot and subplots. This is a very confusing series. Certainly, not a joy to watch. Five stars for the effort.
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bosporan20 April 2022Exceptional drama around the complexities of world finance blended with interpersonal relationships and individual avarice. This is an all-balls-in-the-air thriller with multitudes of simultaneous strands beautifully woven together into a fabulous story about power.
The general acting is outstanding, with particular excellence from Laia Costa (Sofia) and Alessandro Borghi (Massimo) who are at the eye of the storm. The wide-eyed, idealistic and naïve Sofia contrasted with the duality of Massimo's sometimes Morningstar, sometimes Satan, but always the Devil.
There are some weaknesses, most notably the variable pacing, but I highly recommend this and am eagerly anticipating season 2. -
BongoJustice19 February 2021Where to begin with this mess? The lead character is terrible - wooden as hell, a poor actor. Most of the other actors aren't much better.
The sound mix is appalling which doesn't help the fact that most of the characters especially the lead are barely comprehensible. Half the dialogue is unintelligible.
Editing is messy and confused, constantly cutting around without achieving any kind of tension. The whole thing looks like it's been filmed with something smeared across the lens in some sort of awful soft focus nightmare.
An absolute disaster.