Billions is one of those shows that’s slipped under the radar. In a TV environment where shows tend to lock in or lose viewers in less than a month, it takes nothing less than a de facto reboot to grab their attention again. The Showtime drama hasn’t reinvented the wheel in its second chapter, now just past its halfway point, but there’s something differentabout the tale of U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and his great white insider trading whale Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) this year. It’s more fun. It’s more focused. It’s just … better. Creators Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin haven’t rebuilt their show so much as upgraded it to a more effective version of what it was already trying to be. Consequently, we can’t just point to any one new player or spiked subplot as Billions’ magic ingredient. Instead, we have a few contributing factors to take into account, of varying levels of significance. Together, they make up a playbook for how a show can up its game without doing a complete remodel.