UPDATED 2019/03/04 2:00PM
Denise Shull, 59, is suing Showtime’s Billions for copyright infringement and she is providing emails to prove it. She says that the cable television show infringed on her life as “the world’s only female hedge fund performance coach” and her book on finance “Market Mind Games: A Radical Psychology of Investing, Trading and Risk.’ Emails with Billions showrunner Andrew Ross Sorkin show that he emailed Shull to invite her to discuss her book on his CNBC show in 2012 and then emailed her again asking her questions for the show. The email led to a two-hour meeting with with writers and executives where she was asked many questions about her life.
The digital marketing director of the series, Alphonzo Terrell, also asked her about being part of the show’s promotion and the actress Maggie Siff, who plays the character whom Shull alleges is based on her, sent her technical questions as well.
Those exchanges eventually ended without any discussion of involvement or compensation. When the show premiered in 2016, Shull was neither credited, nor compensated.
Showtime said in a statement that they are filing a motion to dismiss the entire lawsuit.