One of the most anticipated new shows of 2019, Black Monday, makes its unofficial debut before the end of 2018, as Showtime offers the series premiere weeks ahead of schedule. The premium cabler has been marketing the new series starring Don Cheadle, Regina Hall, and Andrew Rannells for months now, and though each teaser or trailer made the series look more and more entertaining, it would seem the network just can’t keep its excitement to itself, and wants to share with everyone.
The move is in keeping with Showtime’s usual methods of rolling out new and returning series, though sometimes, like in the case of Ray Donovan season 6, the early premiere is only made available to subscribers. Black Monday isn’t quite the known quantity that the long-running Liev Schrieber series is, and as such, the network is spreading the wealth, so to speak, making the Wall Street dramedy free to everyone via a variety of platforms that include, YouTube, Facebook, sho.com, and on the Showtime app. Basically, if you can stream video, you don’t have an excuse not to watch (unless, of course, you just really don’t want to).
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As much as the pair’s influence was made apparent in the cocaine-fueled ads that’ve been on the internet as of late, actually watching the episode you’ll find the series takes a more balanced approach to its depiction of “October 19, 1987 – aka Black Monday, the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street.”
There’s a lot to like about Black Monday, from its stellar cast to its ‘80s setting and smart premise. It’s an attractive package that’s made even more compelling by virtue of it being free to anyone who wants to check it out. Whether this series will rise to become the next Billions remains to be seen, but Showtime seems like it’s headed in the right direction with this one.
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The Black Monday series premiere is currently available online. The official premiere is still scheduled for Sunday, January 20, 2019 @10pm on Showtime.
