Showtime Shake-Up: Billions and Black Monday to Air Split Seasons Due to Shutdown

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The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is continuing to impact the TV industry. 

Showtime on Wednesday announced that Billions and Black Monday are among the shows airing split seasons due to both shows having production shut down. 

Billions Season 5 is set to premiere Sunday, May 3 at 9/8c. 

Now, the show will air the first seven episodes with no interruption, but there will be a wait in store for the remaining five episodes. 

A return date has not been set for the series, but given that the Coronavirus pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down, it could be months, or much longer. 

Black Monday, which is currently airing Sundays will hit pause after the sixth episode of its second season on April 12. 

Four more episodes will be left, but what we do know is that both shows will stop with a natural ending so that viewers will not be left with disjointed midseason conclusions.

Additionally, Showtime confirmed that The Chi is now penciled in for an earlier return. Initialy, set for July 5, the series will now be back Sunday, June 21. 

The good news is that production was completed on the new season, meaning that it will air the season without hiatuses. 

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is said to be unaffected by the pandemic, and will still debut Sunday, April 26. 

It's good to know that new content is on the horizon, especially when you consider that other forthcoming cable entries, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and The Undoing have been been pushed to later in the year. 

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

The pandemic has had a knock-on effect on the industry, and it has even paved the way for Empire to wrap up 18 episodes into its final season, with the planned finale scrapped. 

Showtime has not revealed what will become of the final season of Shameless, which was penciled in for a summer launch. 

Given that the show had only started production a while before it was brought to a halt, it's looking increasingly likely fans will have to wait to the fall or to 2021 for the last hurrah. 

What are your thoughts on these developments at Showtime?

Hit the comments below. 

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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