You are viewing the archive: “Masters of Sex”

Carol Burnett & Tim Conway Reunite In ‘Cleveland’, Allison Janney Joins ‘Masters Of Sex’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday February 28, 2013 @ 3:23pm PSTTags: Allison Janney, Carol Burnett, Hot in Cleveland, Masters of Sex

Carol Burnett Hot In Cleveland Tim Conway Hot In ClevelandComedy icon Carol Burnett and her Carol Burnett Show pal Tim Conway will guest star together on TV Land’s Hot In Cleveland for an episode airing in August. Conway appeared in the show’s first season and will reprise his role as Elka’s (Betty White) ex Nick, who has his sights set on Penny (Burnett), Victoria’s (Wendy Malick) mother and a local children’s TV show legend/puppeteer. The sitcom’s summer season debuts June 19 with a live episode airing at 10 PM ET and live-to-tape three hours later at 10 PM on the West Coast.

Allison Janney Masters Of SexEmmy-winner Allison Janney will guest star for five episodes on Showtime’s Masters Of Sex as University Provost Barton Scully’s (Beau Bridges) wife Margaret. The West Wing alum also stars in Chuck Lorre’s CBS fall comedy pilot Mom opposite Anna Faris. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan head the cast of the 1960s-set drama as real life sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The series is adapted from Thomas Maier’s book Masters Of Sex: The Life And Times Of William Masters And Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love. John Madden directs the pilot which premieres Sunday, September 29th at 10 PM.

Comments (0)

Wendi McLendon-Covey To Recur On Showtime’s ‘Masters Of Sex’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 28, 2013 @ 2:46pm PSTTags: Masters of Sex, Showtime, Wendi McLendon-Covey
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Bridesmaids co-star Wendi McLendon-Covey, who was just tapped as the female lead of Adam F. Goldberg/Seth Gordon’s ABC comedy pilot How The Hell Am I Normal, is set for a recurring role on Showtime‘s upcoming drama series Masters Of Sex. The series, an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book, stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, and chronicles their unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory. McLendon-Covey will play Dr. Lillian DePaul, a new, formidable doctor at the hospital — the only female in an all-boys club who is both competitive with and a mentor to Johnson (Caplan). Read More »

Comments (3)

TV Trailer: Showtime’s ‘Masters Of Sex’ & ‘Ray Donovan’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday December 7, 2012 @ 1:48pm PSTTags: Masters of Sex, Ray Donovan, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

Showtime just released a first combined trailer for its two new dramas Ray Donovan and Masters Of Sex, which will premiere next year. Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber as fixer Ray Donovan, who does the dirty work for LA’s top power players. Jon Voight plays his father. Masters … Read More »

Comments 24

Showtime Picks Up ‘Ray Donovan’ And ‘Masters Of Sex’ To Series

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday June 11, 2012 @ 11:30am PDTTags: Masters of Sex, Ray Donovan, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

Showtime has picked up both of its drama pilots, Ray Donovan and Masters Of Sex, to series. Ray Donovan, which stars Liev Schreiber as a professional fixer, and Masters Of Sex, which stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, have both received 12-episode orders and will film in Los Angeles for premieres in 2013. The third pilot from Showtime’s most recent crop of pilots, Andrew Gurland’s docu-comedy Gurland on Gurland, will likely not go forward, but Showtime still has picked up four of the five pilots ordered by Nevins. In starring vehicles, he has gone 4 for 4. That was not intentional, Nevins said. “But we do make pilots with the strong intention to put them on the air and a strategy how to schedule them,” he said, adding that not having the pressure of broadcast network deadlines has allowed the network to take its time with the pilots and overcome a casting issue it had early on with Masters Of Sex when originally cast Paul Bettany exited. “It couldn’t  have worked any better,” Nevins said of Masters Of Sex, which cast Sheen in the role. According to Nevins, both series “in their own way are broadening the Showtime brand” — Masters by tackling an universal subject like human sexuality and Ray Donovan by offering “a deep and broad show with an incredible cast going 6 and 7 actors deep that has the makings of a great pay cable drama that is gripping, complicated and I think extremely watchable.” Read More »

Comments (14)

Jake Lacy Lands ‘Goodwin’ Lead, Caitlin Fitzgerald Cast In ‘Masters Of Sex’, David Eigenberg & F. Murray Abraham Join Pilots

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday February 27, 2012 @ 6:29pm PSTTags: Masters of Sex, The Goodwin Games
Nellie Andreeva

Jake Lacy, who got his break as one of the leads on the ABC comedy Better With You, has landed the third lead opposite Becki Newton and Scott Foley in The Goodwin Games, Fox’s single-camera comedy from the How … Read More »

Comments (0)

UPDATE: Michael Sheen & Lizzy Caplan To Star In Showtime Pilot ‘Masters Of Sex’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday February 2, 2012 @ 12:01pm PSTTags: Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATE: Party Down alumna Lizzy Caplan has just closed her deal, and she is now set to play Virginia Johnson opposite Sheen.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Sheen, best known for portraying Tony Blair and David Frost in films, will get to play another famous person, this time on a TV series. In his first regular series role, the British actor is set to star in Showtime’s drama pilot Masters of Sex, portraying 1960s human sexuality pioneer William Masters. In addition to starring, Sheen and his manager Tammy Rosen will serve as producers on the show. The project, written by Michelle Ashford (The Pacific) and directed by John Madden (Shakespeare In Love), is an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: The Life And Times Of William Masters And Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love. It chronicles the lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of Masters (Sheen) and Johnson, whose research touched off the sexual revolution. Sheen replaces another Brit, Paul Bettany, who was originally attached but parted ways with the producers last month. With Sheen set, the focus will now shift to casting the Johnson role, for which Lizzy Caplan has been in negotiations. Masters Of Sex is produced by Sony Pictures TV, with Judith Verno and Timberman/Beverly Prods’ Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly executive producing. Production on the pilot is slated to begin in March in New York. Sheen is the latest feature actor tapped as the lead of a Showtime series follwoing the recent castings of Claire Danes in Homeland, Don Cheadle in House Of Lies, and Liev Schreiber in the pilot Ray Donovan. Read More »

Comments (9)

Paul Bettany Exits Showtime Pilot ‘Masters Of Sex’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 10, 2012 @ 11:15am PSTTags: Masters of Sex, Paul Bettany, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

Paul Bettany has pulled out of Showtime’s drama pilot Masters of Sex. The British actor was to play 1960s human sexuality pioneer William Masters in the project, an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: The Life And Times Of William Masters And Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love. It chronicles the lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of Masters and Johnson, whose research touched off the sexual revolution. This was going to be Bettany’s American series debut and was considered a coup for Showtime and series producer Sony Pictures TV, especially given The Beautiful Mind co-star’s known difficulty to commit to projects. He recently passed on several big roles, including the lead in The King’s Speech, which earned Colin Firth an Oscar. Complicating things on Masters Of Sex was the fact that Bettany had a say in the casting of the female lead, which had stalled the process. The pilot will now launch a new search for both leads, with Lizzy Caplan talked about for Johnson. Read More »

Comments 22

Paul Bettany To Star In Showtime’s Pilot ‘Masters Of Sex’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 11, 2011 @ 12:47pm PSTTags: Masters of Sex, Paul Bettany, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

In his first foray into American television, British actor Paul Bettany is in negotiations to star in the Showtime drama pilot Masters of Sex. The project, from Sony Pictures TV, is an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: … Read More »

Comments (15)

Showtime Picks Up Pilots From Andrew Gurland, Michelle Ashford & Ann Biderman

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday August 21, 2011 @ 6:00pm PDTTags: Andrew Gurland, Carl Beverly, CBS TV Studios, Glenn Gordon Caron, Mark Gordon, Masters of Sex, Michelle Ashford, pilots, Sarah Timberman, Showtime, Sony Pictures TV
Nellie Andreeva

Showtime has greenlighted three pilots: Andrew Gurland’s docu-comedy Gurland on Gurland, Michelle Ashford’s drama Masters Of Sex and Ann Biderman’s dramedy Ray Donovan. This marks the second round of pilot orders for Showtime’s new entertainment president David Nevins. The first one included drama Homeland and comedy House of Lies, both of which went to series.

Gurland on Gurland is a first-person documentary comedy written, directed and starring filmmaker Andrew Gurland (The Last Exorcism, The Virginity Hit), which reflects his real family life and the challenges he faces pursuing the next phase of his career. The pilot hails from CBS TV Studios, with Gurland, managed by Principato-Young, and studio-based Glenn Gordon Caron executive producing. This marks the first Showtime pilot from the cable division of sibling studio CBS TV Studios. It was developed by the division’s former head Bela Bajaria, who recently departed to run Universal Media Studios. On the broadcast side, Medium creator Caron just sold a drama project to CBS executive produced by James Mangold and Cathy Konrad.

Masters of Sex, from Sony Pictures TV, is an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love and chronicles the lives and the intriguing, unusual relationship between Masters and Johnson, the pioneers into the science of human sexuality whose research touched off the sexual revolution. Ashford wrote the script and is executive producing with Timberman/Beverly Prods’ Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly, who set up the project while at Sony TV. (The company, which has three series on the air — FX’s Justified and CBS’ upcoming Unforgettable and A Gifted Man — moved to CBS Studios last summer.) Read More »

Comments (18)