Showtime’s Masters of Sex is a slow-burning, character-driven drama about the people behind the sexual revolution. It follows Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) as they conduct groundbreaking research on human sexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. The series is based on Thomas Maier’s biography of the same name, and it runs for four seasons across 46 episodes, premiering on September 29, 2013, and ending on November 13, 2016.
The show’s central tension is that Masters is a brilliant scientist who is emotionally stunted, while Johnson is a single working mother who is decades ahead of her time. Their partnership is both professional and deeply personal, and the series tracks how their work together transforms both their careers and their lives.
Trailer, via AW Editor.
Opening the Study
The story opens in October 1956, when Masters, a fertility specialist at Washington University in St. Louis, decides to study human sexuality. He hires Johnson, a former nightclub singer, as his secretary. She proves to be exceptionally intelligent and personable, which puts participants at ease during his initial observations of sexual behavior.
But the study faces immediate trouble. Provost Barton Scully (Beau Bridges) learns of its existence and shuts it down. Masters temporarily relocates the study to a brothel, but he eventually returns to the university after discovering Scully’s homosexuality and blackmailing him.
“He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time.”
The Personal Cost
The show is not just about the research. It is also about the personal cost of being a pioneer. Masters’ wife Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald) wants a baby, but Masters, who does not want one, lies to her that she is infertile. In reality, his sperm count is low. Libby discovers the lie and proceeds to be artificially inseminated, giving birth to their son Johnny.
Johnson’s role evolves from secretary to research associate, and the two become the subjects of their own study. They have sex with each other and chart their physiological responses, believing the experiment is purely scientific. The ethics of this begin to bother Masters, who offers to pay Johnson for her contributions to “his” study. She is insulted and quits.
Masters is devastated. He tells Johnson he needs her, and they have sex. The moment is intimate, a departure from the show’s usual focus on data and research.
The Presentation Disaster
The climax comes when Masters prepares to present their findings to Washington University. The presentation is a disaster, and he is fired. The episode is a gut punch, because the show has spent hours building up Masters’ reputation as a respected academic.
The final season ends in August 1969, with Masters and Johnson’s work finally reaching the public eye. They appear on Johnny Carson’s couch and land on the cover of Time magazine. The show does not shy away from the irony that their research, which was once hidden and secretive, becomes a national sensation.
The Cast
Sheen and Caplan carry the series. Sheen plays Masters as a man who is brilliant but socially awkward, and Caplan plays Johnson as a woman who is fiercely independent and emotionally resilient. Their chemistry is the engine of the show, and their scenes together are consistently the best of the series.
The supporting cast is strong too. Caitlin FitzGerald brings depth to Libby, a woman trapped in a marriage with a man who is emotionally unavailable. Annaleigh Ashford plays Betty DiMello.
The show is shot in a period-appropriate style, with costumes and sets that evoke the 1950s and 1960s. The production design is meticulous, and the attention to detail helps ground the story in its historical context.
What Doesn’t Land
Not everything lands. Some of the later seasons feel rushed, with the show compressing years of the couple’s life into a handful of episodes. The pacing slows considerably in the middle seasons, and some viewers may find the back half of the series less compelling than the first two.
There is also a tension between the show’s scientific rigor and its emotional storytelling. The research is fascinating, but the show sometimes sacrifices clarity for drama, leaving viewers unsure about the technical details of Masters and Johnson’s methods.
The series was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series in 2013. It was canceled by Showtime on November 30, 2016, after four seasons.
Final Word
Masters of Sex is a flawed but essential piece of television. It handles difficult subjects with care, and it features two outstanding performances at its center. The show’s exploration of sexuality, gender, and power is relevant today, and its portrait of two people who changed the world is unforgettable.
Score: 8.6/10.
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