Why ‘Billions’ Dedicated Its Premiere to Bethenny Frankel’s Late Boyfriend
Fans of Showtime’s Billions were left a little confused during March 17’s Season 4 premiere when the show used its final moments of the episode for a dedication to Dennis Shields.
For those who don’t know, Shields was famously the on-and-off boyfriend of Real Housewives of New Yorkstar Bethenny Frankel who passed away last year from a a drug overdose.
Sunday’s episod ended with a black-and-white title card that simply read, “In memory of Dennis Shields.”
As it turns out, Shields was very close with Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman.
Koppelman tweeted after the episode, “Dedicated to Dennis Shields, our brother.”
Dedicated to Dennis Shields, our brother.
— Brian Koppelman (@briankoppelman) March 18, 2019
Koppelman also released a statement following the businessman’s death back in August 2018.
“Dennis Shields, who died this morning, was my close friend for 30 years. One of the smartest, most generous, people I ever came across,” he wrote on Twitter.
“He was also one of the great storytellers in the world. And understood life’s endless absurdity in his bones. I loved him. And his family.”
Frankel also took to Twitter after the premiere to explain Shields’ connection to the show.
Yes. We are all connected and have a long history. He really is missed and touched so many people’s lives. https://t.co/b21PT7iUzs
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) March 17, 2019
“We are all connected and have a long history. He is really missed and touched so many people’s lives,” she explained.
She also tweeted on Monday, March 18, “Mourning is tricky business. It’s like the weather. There can be weeks & weeks of sunshine then one day you get whacked with a storm.”
Billions, Sundays, 9/8c, Showtime
Billions where to stream
