Peloton Not Happy After Another TV Character's Heart Attack

'Billions' scene was written before 'Sex and the City' incident, however
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2022 2:09 AM CST
Peloton Not Happy After Another TV Character's Heart Attack
This Nov. 19, 2019 file photo shows the logo on a Peloton bike in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Warning: Spoilers ahead for viewers of Billions and And Just Like That...

A second television character has had a heart attack after using a Peloton exercise bike, and the company is not pleased. "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," the company said in a statement following Sunday night's season 6 premiere of Billions, per Entertainment Weekly.

In the episode, Mike "Wags" Wagner, played by David Costabile, has a heart attack while riding his Peloton, but does not die, unlike another famous TV character recently. In fact, upon his return from the hospital, he says he's "not going out like Mr. Big," per Fox Business. Producers tell the New York Times the scene was written and filmed last spring, but the line was added after the infamous And Just Like That... storyline and overdubbed in postproduction. As it did after the And Just Like That... episode, Peloton pointed out that cardiovascular exercise is actually beneficial for people at risk of cardiac events. (More Peloton stories.)

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