‘MASTERS OF SEX’ STAR LIZZY CAPLAN SCHOOLS US ABOUT PLAYING A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME & GIRL-ON-GIRL CRIME

Lizzy Caplan plays Virginia Johnson, a pioneer in the field of sex research, on Showtime’s intelligent and provocative new series Masters of Sex. Caplan previously starred in the cult comedy favorite Party Down and played Janis Ian in Mean Girls, but her captivating performance in Masters of Sex achieves a new level of greatness.

SSN spoke with Caplan about playing a woman considered ahead of her time, her onscreen chemistry with Michael Sheen—who plays Johnson’s research partner Dr. William Masters—and their emotionally tough, physically intimate scenes together.

SSN: How did you wind up doing this role? What intrigued you most about it? 
Caplan: There are a million reasons it intrigued me. I read the script, fell in love with it. That was surprising to me and my agents as I don’t usually gravitate toward dramatic roles in general, certainly not procedural roles. Also, I usually never go after a role set in another period because I’ve been told throughout my career that I give off a very modern vibe. The fact that it took place in the ‘50s made it even more interesting and more layered. I became obsessed with her and tried to get people to see me in this way. And it worked!

Showtime Renews ‘Homeland’ & ‘Masters Of Sex’

Showtime continues to stay with its series for the long haul, giving early renewals to dramas Homeland,which will return for a fourth season, and freshman Masters Of Sex, which has been picked up for a second season. Both series have received 12-episode orders to air next year four weeks in their current runs. 

“Homeland continues to prove its strength for Showtime, and is one of television’s most exciting, provocative and widely-discussed shows,” said Showtime Entertainment president David Nevins. “The critical and audience reaction to Masters Of Sex since its great launch has been incredibly gratifying.” 

Four episodes in, Homeland‘s third season averages 6.5 million weekly viewers, up 26% from the same time frame in Season 2. The Fox 21-produced series, a best drama series Emmy winner for its first season, once again is evoking polarizing reactions with its Season 3 storyline. Masters Of Sex currently averages 5.4 million weekly viewers, 33% ahead of Homeland‘s first season. Masters of Sex is the fourth new Showtime scripted series ordered under Nevins and the fourth to get a second season renewal, joining Homeland, House Of Lies and Ray Donovan. Masters Of Sex was created by Michelle Ashford who is exec producing with Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, and Judith Verno for Sony Pictures TV.

Source:    deadline.com

TV Review: Showtime’s ‘Masters of Sex’

Slick period drama on sex researchers? Sounds like the reason we pay for premium cable

In cable TV terms, “Masters of Sex” feels like a triumph of concept and casting even before you get to the perfectly entertaining series birthed out of those two well-devised elements. Revisiting 1950s sexual mores through the pioneering research of Masters & Johnson, the show (derived from a book by Thomas Maier) features Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan in the central roles, while providing legitimate cover for lots of explicit a-big-reason-we-pay-for-Showtime sex and nudity. Coming on the heels of “Ray Donovan,” the pay channel continues to steadily reinforce the dramatic bona fides built on the backs of “Dexter” and “Homeland.”

Mining some of the same territory regarding pre-sexual revolution oppression and research as did the movie “Kinsey,” “Masters of Sex” features Sheen as Dr. William Masters, a brilliant clinician whose curiosity is thwarted by the puritanical times as well as a medical establishment that sees such inquiry as thinly veiled smut.

“You pretended to have an orgasm?” Masters asks one of his clandestine subjects, forced as he is to enlist a prostitute to privately pursue his studies. “Why would a woman lie about something like that?”

It’s 1956 when Masters, already an accomplished and highly respected ob-gyn at Washington U., meets new arrival to the office Virginia Johnson (Caplan), a twice-divorced former singer and single mom. Her somewhat cavalier attitude toward sex, and ability to approach women in a more sympathetic way than the good doctor, gradually prompts him to bring her into the process, which is meeting formidable resistance from his boss (Beau Bridges) and the hospital’s board of trustees.

Sheen doesn’t much resemble the actual guy, but he does convey a chilly detachment, which extends to Masters’ relationship with his wife (Caitlin FitzGerald), who is wracked with guilt over their inability to conceive. If the “Doctor, heal thyself” part of that subplot feels a trifle stiff and familiar, writer Michelle Ashford for the most part keeps the narrative and relationships humming along, deftly weaving in humor and pathos as the various subplots progress, with Caplan (whose series resume includes “Party Down” and “The Class”) providing an intriguing, slightly mysterious emotional counterweight to Sheen’s tightly wound MD.

Just technically speaking, the look is impeccable, capturing the Eisenhower era with every small touch and wrinkle. The unhurried pace also suggests a slow build to accommodate a series on the back of what might have been dispensed with as a movie or miniseries.

So while “Masters of Sex” might not be a great show as yet, viewed strictly in terms of giving consumers something worth paying for — or at least an experience they couldn’t receive in quite the same way in many other places — it’s the equivalent of a master class in pay-TV development.

TV Review: Showtime's 'Masters of Sex'

(Series; Showtime, Sun. Sept. 29, 10 p.m.)

Production

Filmed in New York and Los Angeles by Round Two Prods. and Timberman/Beverly Prods. in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Crew

Executive producers, Michelle Ashford, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Amy Lippman, Judith Verno; co-executive producers, Tyler Bensinger; producers, Gregory Prange, Thomas Maier, Tammy Rosen, Michael Sheen, Michael Dinner; director, John Madden; writer, Ashford, based on the book “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson” by Thomas Maier; production designer, Michael Wylie; costume designer, Ane Crabtree; music, Michael Penn; music supervisor, Liz Gallacher; casting, Risa Bramon Garcia, Bernard Telsey. 60 MIN.

Cast

Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan, Caitlin FitzGerald, Nicholas D’Agosto, Teddy Sears, Beau Bridges, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson

Source: Variety