9 Times TV Shows Failed To Hide The Passage Of Time
2. Paul Giamatti Lost Significant Weight Between Episodes (Due To Pandemic Delays) - Billions
Production on Billions' fifth season was shut down for roughly six months last year due to the pandemic, but rather than delay the entire season, Showtime decided to air the first seven completed episodes of the season regardless.
As a result, there was a near-three month gap before the remainder of the season aired, and when the show resumed many fans expressed concern over the health of actor Paul Giamatti, who plays Chuck Rhoades on the show.
From the eighth episode onward, Giamatti was significantly slimmer, had noticeably greyer hair, and has shed his iconic goatee, prompting some to fear that the actor had fallen ill during the production shutdown.
Thankfully that wasn't the case at all, and Giamatti had simply lost weight during the six-ish months between filming.
Amusingly the show did make a half-assed attempt to address this by having Rhoades' lackey Karl Allard (Allan Havey) comment, "You look ready to toss your cap in the air at West Point!," to which Rhoades tellingly replied, "Don't make a whole thing of it."
Of course the Internet did make a thing of it, though thankfully fans seemed generally less bothered about the obvious continuity issues - given that episodes seven and eight took place in close proximity - than genuine concern for one of the world's finest actors.