The tagline for season four of “Billions,” out March 17, is, “Leave them with nothing.”
Mission accomplished, says Denise Shull.
“They’ve left me with nothing and then went out of their way to make me look bad for telling the truth,” said Shull, a NYC-based performance coach for hedge funds.
In a copyright-infringement lawsuit she filed against Showtime and the show’s creators, Shull argues the series is “an unauthorized rip-off” of her 2012 book, “Market Mind Games: A Radical Psychology of Investing, Trading and Risk.”
The Dr. Wendy Rhoades character, played by Maggie Siff, is clearly based on her, Shull claims, employing the same coaching techniques she laid out during a meeting with the actress and executive producers — and now e-mails she’s exclusively shared with The Post show “Billions” execs reaching out for her help.
Shull, 59, specializes in channeling one’s instincts to make big trades. She has a history with “Billions” creator Andrew Ross Sorkin, appearing on his show “Squawk Box” in 2012.
Three years later, Sorkin reached out to Shull.
“I have an unusual request,” he wrote in an Aug. 26, 2015, e-mail provided to The Post.
“I’m involved in a new fictional TV drama being made for Showtime about hedge funds … Maggie, who is an extraordinary actress, recently asked me if I could introduce her to someone who works with traders in real-life. Would you be willing to meet her?”
It turned into a full-blown business meeting at the show’s West Village writers room. Executive producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien were there, but Siff didn’t show up until nearly halfway through the two-hour session, recalls Shull, who was bombarded with questions about her motivation and career.
“Everything I said was taken down,” she said.
The day after the meeting, Alphonzo Terrell, the digital marketing director for “Billions,” e-mailed Shull.
“We’re interested in speaking with you about possibly getting involved with some of the promotion,” he wrote.
Six days later, they discussed via conference call Shull participating in joint interviews with Siff and other promotions. Terrell then e-mailed saying he would draft a non-disclosure agreement.
In a September e-mail, Siff wrote that she wanted to learn more about Shull’s so-called X-factor test, which assesses human performance under pressure.
“Can I take the test? Or see the test? Or is that top secret?” Siff wrote, inviting Shull to visit the set.
But in Shull’s last e-mail exchange with the actress, in October, her “tone changed,” said Shull.
“It seemed like I was being blown off.”
There was no set visit. No NDA. No promotional events. Siff stopped responding to Shull’s e-mails.
The show premiered in January 2016. Shull received no credit or financial compensation.
“I was aghast,” said Shull, whose suit was first reported by The Post in January.
“There was one time we were watching, and we had to stop the television because what she said sounded so much like me.”
A Showtime rep said, “We will be filing a motion to dismiss the entire lawsuit next week.”