Yahoo Finance Billions Premiere Features Character Heart Attack on a Peloton: 'Not Going Out Like Mr. Big'
Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME
Another TV character had a heart attack while riding a Peloton exercise bike, though the outcome was a little different than from the shocking death on And Just Like That…
In the Billions season 6 premiere, Mike "Wags" Wagner (played by David Costabile) suffers a heart attack while riding in a class. The scene features Wags denying the crisis, while two police officers try to convince him he needs medical attention.
While the heart attack didn't kill Wags in the Showtime series, Mr. Big wasn't so lucky. The AJLT series premiere on HBO Max saw Carrie Bradshaw's husband suffer a fatal heart attack following a routine workout session.
RELATED: Mr. Big Reunites With Peloton's Jess King for Commercial After And Just Like That… Bombshell
Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME
The shocking AJLT plotline led to an 11 percent drop in Peloton's stock after the episode aired in December.
Playing on the parallel, later in the episode, Wags declared "I'm not going out like Mr. Big."
In a recent conversation with The New York Times, Billions executive producers said that the heart attack on the exercise bike had been planned since last spring — long before AJLT's twist made headlines. The line delivered by Wags about Mr. Big was added during post-production, they explained.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Peloton addressed the health benefits the bikes deliver in light of another show associating the fitness brand with a medical scare. The exercise equipment company also said they were not in any placement partnership with Billons, and didn't give the right to use Rigsby's name.
RELATED: Peloton Will Reportedly Temporarily Stop Production of Bikes, Treadmills Due to Decreased Demand
"We get why these fictional TV shows would want to include a brand that people love to talk about, but Showtime's use of Peloton's Bike+ and reference to a Peloton Instructor was not a brand, product, or instructor placement, and we did not agree for our brand and IP to be used on this show or provide any equipment," a Peloton spokesperson said. "As referenced by the show itself, there are strong benefits of cardio-vascular exercise to help people lead long, happy lives."
Last week, CNBC reported that Peloton will temporarily stop producing bikes and treadmills in February and March due to decreased demand for its products.
