Peloton Smacks Down Showtime's Billions After Another Unflattering Portrayal
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the most recent episode of "Billions"
It turns out that if you want to try and kill off a TV character lately, you don't need some dramatic fall from a great height, a mysterious murder, or even a misguided step into oncoming traffic. This year's most prominent small screen character killer is world-famous fitness company, Peloton — and they're really not happy about it. The first bit of brand tarnishing came in a big way after Chris Noth's "Sex and the City" character, Mr. Big, dies of a heart attack on the company's exercise bikes in "And Just Like That..." Now, it seems like the bikes are out to get another character of prime time television after a recent episode of Showtime's "Billions."
In a fashion quite similar to Big's incident with a Peloton bike, the latest episode of "Billions" sees David Costabile's Mike "Wags" Wagner also have a heart attack while using one of the exercise machines. Thankfully, the health issue doesn't take Wags down permanently, but following the episode's airing, Peloton was quick to chime in on the recent plot point and set the record straight, saying that it had no previous knowledge of the depiction of the company's product in the show.
Peloton is trying to pump the brakes on any misinterpretation caused by Billions
Peleton's response to the recent event was drastically different from the first time the company took a hit by primetime TV. After the events of "And Just Like That...", the company released an ad that actually includes Mr. Big suggesting "another ride" — but it was quickly removed following Noth's allegations of sexual assault.
Following the bruising from "Billions," the company put out a tweet stating, "We get TV shows want to include @onepeloton to get people talking, but to be clear, we did *not* agree for our brand or IP to be used on @SHO_Billions or provide any equipment." Peloton's statement continued, "As the show itself points out, cardio-vascular exercise helps people lead long, happy lives."
Hopefully, this will be the last time Peloton gets taken around the track on television. The folks behind "Billions" could put their money towards buying an alternative bit of equipment instead. Well, it's not like they're short of cash, right?