Hi all! So this is the project I've been working on–a complete series recap of Masters of Sex!
For those who have been following me for a while, this is the third time I've attempted to make such a video. The first time was in 2018, and the end result was very shoddy as I was pretty new to video editing. When my Jasters & Mohnson YouTube channel got deleted, so did the video and I didn't have a copy saved—so unfortunately there's no way to ever watch this video.
I started from scratch and made a second version of the video in the spring of 2023, and this version was roughly the same length (about 17 minutes), but it still blew through key plot points. Although it was a step in the right direction in terms of editing, it blew through many key plot points. You can watch that second edit here!
Over the last two years, I made similar series recaps for some of my other favorite shows including Nurse Jackie, Veep, Episodes, and House of Cards. After making the fifth or sixth recap, I could really notice significant improvements in editing skills—paying closer attention to context and tone. So I decided I should do a third and final edit of Masters of Sex. I used AI to isolate Masters of Sex's soundtrack and used that music throughout the video to set the classy, melancholy tone that Michael Penn's score did for the show. The video is about 30 minutes long (almost twice as long as my last edit). Also this video is public, as the last recaps were unlisted.
I want this video to serve as a recap for those who watched the show a while ago, but I also would like it to serve as a condensed, cohesive version of the show for people who haven't seen and don't feel like watching it in it's entirety (although I absolutely do recommend you watch the show, there are so many brilliant moments and storylines I couldn't fit in the video).
WATCH THE RECAP HERE!!!
Thank you all so much for being fans of my channel! I know I don't post regularly, but I will forever cherish Masters of Sex and I hope that my posts have made you even a tiny bit more passionate about the show and your own fandom! (Also happy birthday Lizzy Caplan!)
Ranking the Masters of Sex seasons by historical accuracy
"It would be a shame for young students in the field to believe that the Showtime series has any factual basis whatsoever other than managing to get [Masters and Johnson] at the right medical school in the right city." –Robert Kolodny, 2016
Hey everyone! I'm alive!
So I've been getting back into Masters of Sex because a project I've been working on. I've been thinking about doing this post for a while because I've always been curious as to how each season did in terms of historical accuracy, because for a show that was based on real people, it took some significant liberties.
And how interesting is that quote from Robert Kolodny (who worked with Masters and Johnson for decades)? I didn't find until a few days ago, I wasn't aware he made any comments on the show. I would love to pick his brain on everything related to the show because he is probably the last person alive who knew Masters and Johnson so closely.
So I thought it would be neat to rank all four seasons of Masters of Sex from least historically accurate to most historically accurate:
4. Season Four
Perhaps surprising to none, the final season of Masters of Sex was based almost entirely in fiction. Keep in mind, I love the fourth season, and what it lacks in historical accuracy it makes up for in compelling human drama.
The bulk of the fourth season's drama comes from this rift that formed between Masters and Johnson, which didn't really happen—Johnson chose Masters over her perfume magnate boyfriend. Art Dreesen and Nancy Leveau did not exist (although Art Dreesen was perhaps loosely based on Robert Kolodny). And Masters and Johnson's surrogacy program did not culminate in a legal trial, which was probably the biggest stretch all season.
The season does get some stuff right though. Masters and Johnson did indeed tape record everything, and the show smartly ties this in as their reaction to the surrogacy stuff last season. The details of the Playboy Mansion in the first episode were taken directly from the book. And of course Masters and Johnson did get married (the timeline was off but that's not unusual for this show). Masters' look of uncertainty reflects a passage from the Masters of Sex book (someone asked Masters: "when did you know it wouldn't work?" "When I walked down the aisle.")
Perhaps most importantly, this season chronicles the shift in Masters and Johnson's personalities. The people who worked with them in real life reported that Masters would loosen up and become more warm over time, while Johnson would become more domineering. This can especially be seen in Virginia's clear distain towards Nancy, which mirrors several real-life incidents where Virginia would have problems with female staff members.
3. Season Two
The second season is, in my opinion, the best season of Masters of Sex. The period of time it covers (1957–1961) wasn't as important a time for the real Masters and Johnson, so the show decided to become more internal and introspective rather than focusing on key events in their lives. My feeling with this season is that while you can't prove a lot of it happened, you can't prove a lot of it didn't happen either.
That being said, the first half of the season is almost entirely fictitious because Masters and Johnson went from Maternity directly to starting their own clinic (which in real life was located right across the street from WashU). Masters did not go on a spree working at various hospitals. The second half of the season focuses on them jump-starting the clinic, and also on their development of sensate therapy. While the specifics are probably fictitious (Masters did not suffer from impotency, as far as anyone's aware), these were important events for Masters and Johnson.
This season does get some of the smaller details right. For example, there was an instance where one of Maternity's doctors caught Bill and Virginia leaving a motel together (mirroring the incident with Langham). Libby Masters was unsettled by her husband's departure from Maternity, and she also had private suspicions about her husband's affair but chose to look the other way. The real Bill Masters did have a brother named Frank who was a Kansas City plastic surgeon. And also Masters did have the police commissioner on his board of directors at the clinic. Not all of these were important to the story but they're little details that it's cool the writers tried to incorporate into the show.
2. Season Three
Against all odds, the worst season of Masters of Sex was based fairly largely in reality. This season was impacted heavily by a legal threat from the real Masters and Johnson children. While the details of the lawsuit are vague, the show had to take a narrative detour at the start of the season for whatever reason and Virginia gave birth to a baby that never really existed.
After this, the season gets back on track. Season three covers some of the more important developments in Masters and Johnson's career: the first being the release of their book in 1966. In real life, Masters and Johnson did have their press conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston. The show also incorporates the hate mail Masters and Johnson received, which were balanced out by the mail written by people in need of advice.
The second development this season gets right is Dan Logan. In real life Virginia Johnson did have a pretty serious relationship with a perfume magnate (by the name of Hank Walter), and their relationship caused Masters to become jealous and propose to Johnson. In real life though, Hank Walter didn't become involved until after the release of Human Sexual Inadequacy in 1970. The end of the season was a huge flight of fancy though, Virginia chose Bill in real life, whereas she chooses Logan in the show.
The surrogacy program was indeed a controversial aspect of Masters and Johnson's career. Virginia Johnson did have reservations about it. And the show even got right that Masters did have one particularly astute student in the field (although in real life she was a qualified physician who didn't betray him). Season three also chronicles how Masters and Johnson's work would become more therapy-based, as it seems like in every other episode they'd be taking on some client with sexual dysfunction.
Even the more controversial storylines of the season, such as stuff involving the Masters and Johnson children, was based on reality, as their children did face social ostracism as a result of their parents work and fame. Weirdly though, I could not find anything in the Masters of Sex book about Virginia Johnson flashing a gorilla.
1. Season One
When Masters of Sex was in its later seasons, I remember seeing a lot of criticisms that the show was taking too many liberties with its story. Although that doesn't explain season three (the worst season) being fairly accurate, I understand the argument because Masters of Sex's first season is the most based in reality. This is when the characters are established, and Masters and Johnson are portrayed as they really were: Virginia as a single mother ahead of her time wanting to prove herself, and Masters a detached but brilliant doctor who had a troubled childhood.
Even smaller characters like Lester and Barton were based loosely on some of the real people Masters and Johnson worked alongside at Washington University.
The season's biggest narrative departure from reality occurs in the final episodes: at no point did Virginia resign from the study, nor did Bill Masters get fired from Maternity. In real life, Virginia helped prepare the presentation, and while it did get a bumpy reception from the staff, Masters had the support of the higher-ups at the university. Masters left the university because he wanted to start his own practice.
Masters meeting Virginia on her doorstep in the rain was also likely false. Reading the Masters of Sex book, I got the feeling that their relationship was not really romantic at all. And the first season is the most accurate season in depicting their relationship: it's not really romantic until the very end, for the most part Masters adores Johnson because she's an extremely capable intelligent woman, and Johnson adores Masters because he's brilliant himself. The second season is when the show becomes more romantic and that's when the show starts to become less true to reality.
Thank you for reading my post! I have an exciting Masters of Sex project I'm working on so I'll post more about that when I'm finished!
A theory about the abrupt ending to Betty's storyline in season four
Masters of Sex's fourth season is a weird season man. Probably the most contentious aspect of the season is how abruptly Betty's storyline ends. In the seventh episode of season four, Helen's parents vow to continue to keep her child away from Betty... and it just ends like that with Betty in such a state of despair. Sure there's a pending legal battle but that's never resolved or referred to again.
Well Annaleigh Ashford was pregnant in real life during season four. She gave birth in September 2016 during the production of the eighth episode, "Topeka". But still, if you're anticipating her giving birth around this time, why end her story on such a cliffhanger?
In this interview from the summer, Michelle Ashford claims that she expects Annaleigh Ashford to be absent from two episodes this season... not three.
Now I think what happened is Annaleigh Ashford was supposed to be in "Topeka" and maybe given a more proper resolution to her storyline, but the schedule ended up conflicting with her pregnancy. Maybe production was running late and couldn't end up shooting what they wanted, or maybe Annaleigh wasn't able to film them because of the pregnancy. It's an interesting thought! I would so love to know Michelle Ashford discuss this
Ranking Virginia Johnson's 10 best outfits from Masters of Sex
Masters of Sex was known for many things: the outstanding acting, the excellent set design, the hot ape-on-human action—but one aspect that never goes unmentioned with the show is the incredible costume design.
For those who don't know or who became Masters of Sex fans recently, the show had two main costume designers: Ane Crabtree, who did seasons one and two, when the show was in the late 50s and the early 60s; and Isis Mussenden, who did seasons three and four, the mid to late 60s.
Pictured above: Ane Crabtree (left) and Isis Mussenden (right)
Almost all of the costumes the main female characters would wear were hand-made, so if you happened to see an outfit on the show that you liked, you were pretty much out of luck. I own a couple outfits from the show (a couple of Bill's suits, one of Libby's sweaters, and one of Virginia's dresses—which I'll get to later in this post!) and not only does it feel like I own a piece of the show, but I also feel like I own a piece of fashion history in a way since this outfit does not exist anywhere else.
So in my opinion, no other character on Masters of Sex looked better in what they wore than Virginia Johnson (although Betty would be close behind), and I figured I would rank my ten favorite of Virginia's outfits/looks from throughout the show. So let's start!!
#10. Virginia's navy jumpsuit with patterned belt/scarf (season 4, episode 1—circa 1968)
This is one of the first outfits we see Virginia wear in season four, which begins in 1968. It's definitely a unique look, I honestly can't remember seeing Virginia wearing anything other than a skirt or dress.
#9. Virginia's blue polo dress with multi-color scarf (season 3, episode 4—circa 1966)
Right away I should apologize because I do not know fashion terminology, like at all, so I'll probably be using pretty generic terms for a lot of these outfits. But this was one of my favorite outfits of Virginia's from season three. It's very colorful and vibrant and I love the use of buttons.
#8. Virginia's orange/brown blouse and brown skirt (season 2, episode 8—circa 1960)
Although this post is dedicated for the clothes, I will take a moment to say that my favorite hairstyle of Virginia's is hers in the second half of season two, which she sports in this outfit. This is a great outfit, it feels reminiscent of the first season but slightly more modern, as this was the first episode of the show to take place entirely in the 1960s.
Virginia wears this after going sight-seeing with Dan Logan in season three. This is definitely one of the more extravagant of her outfits this season. I like it, I think it really works, even if it does look like she just went boating.
This is the outfit I mentioned earlier that is the only outfit of Virginia's that I actually own! I got it on eBay earlier this year. I'm obsessed with that black/blue abstract pattern, I've tried reverse-image searching but I couldn't find anything. This dress only appears in one scene but it still left an impression on me.
#5. Virginia's navy jacket and red/orange turtleneck outfit (season 4, episode 6—circa 1969)
It's interesting to compare Virginia's wardrobe from seasons three and four. It feels like she dressed more conservatively in season three and then went all-out 60s in season four. This is an incredible look, I love it.
I honestly don't really have much to say about this one, it's just really beautiful. It looks somewhat imperial with the way the buttons are placed.
#3. Virginia's black dress with grey scarf (season 2, episode 10—circa 1960)
Very simple but at the same time it just works so well. It's honestly a look I've tried to recreate myself—and it's pretty easy to do! All you need is a black t shirt and a small strip of black fabric, sew it on, and you've got a little pocket thing for a scarf.
Usually with this show, I'll fall in love with the costumes after rewatching the episodes several times. This particular outfit jumped out when I first watched the episode, I love it. It's a shame that it was only used in one scene. As far as I know, it was not for sale during the prop auction. I think only about half of Virginia's seasons 3/4 wardrobe was auctioned off, I'm very curious as to where the other half is, if Isis Mussenden or Lizzy Caplan got to keep them.
Of the two costume designers, I think I prefer Isis Mussenden's work on the show over Ane Crabtree's, but that's more so because I just prefer the style of the late 60s as opposed to the late 50s. However, it is one of Ane Crabtree's costumes that takes the top prize!
#1. Virginia's brown CBS interview dress (season 2, episode 11—circa 1960)
This really is the most elegant outfit from the entire show. It's a beautiful color, I love the unusual neckline, and the brooch is like the perfect cherry on top.
So what are your favorite outfits of Virginia's from Masters of Sex? Really, if you have any thoughts, please share them!! I love the fashion on this show, I love hearing people's thoughts on it and I could talk about it endlessly.
I'm considering starting a YouTube channel, like one where I'm on screen and talk about Masters of Sex and whatnot. Ranking the seasons, showing off my prop collection, etc.
Here’s how the Masters of Sex trio aged over the course of the series
Masters of Sex has such a wonky timeline, I’ve sometimes wondered watching the show what age the characters are supposed to be—and how that correlates to the age of the actors.
Bill Masters was born December 27, 1915
Virginia Johnson was born February 11, 1925
It’s unknown when Libby Masters was born, but considering she turned 40 in episode 310, it’s safe to say it’s around November 1928.
Let’s get started!
SEASON ONE
Season one takes place from October 1956 to October 1957. This would mean that Bill Masters celebrated his 41st birthday during the events of the pilot and Libby Masters celebrated her 28th birthday during the events of the pilot. Considering episode three takes place in February 1957, Virginia would’ve celebrated her 32nd birthday before or during this episode’s events. The characters are the same age for the rest of the season.
In real life, the pilot was filmed in March 2012 when Sheen was 43, Caplan was 29, and FitzGerald was 28. The season proper started to film the following January, and Michael Sheen celebrated his 44th birthday around the time the fourth episode was being filmed. When filming concluded on the season, Sheen was 44, Caplan was 30, and FitzGerald was 29.
Sheen was 43–44 playing someone who was 40–41
Caplan was 29–30 playing someone who was 31–32
FitzGerald was 28–29 playing someone who was 27–28
SEASON TWO
Season two picks up a little bit after season one left off. The first half of the season takes place primarily in early 1958. During the events of “Asterion”, which end in October 1960, all three have aged an additional two years. Both Libby and Bill celebrate an additional birthday by the end of the season. This means that by the end of the season, Masters is 45, Johnson is 35, and Libby is 32.
In real life, the season was filmed from March to July 2014. Caplan was the only one who celebrated her birthday during the season’s filming, turning 32 during the filming of the tenth episode.
Sheen was 45 playing someone who was 42–45
Caplan was 31–32 playing someone who was 33–35
FitzGerald was 30 playing someone who was 29–32
SEASON THREE
Season three starts in the middle of 1965 when Masters is 49, Johnson is 40, and Libby is 36. The episode “Three’s a Crowd” ends the following spring, and each character has aged an additional year by the end of that episode. From there, the specific timeline of season three is somewhat of a blur. We know for sure that the season ends in December 1968. By the end of the season, Masters is 52, Johnson is 43, and Libby is 40.
Season three was filmed from April to August 2015. Caplan celebrated her 33rd birthday during the filming of “Monkey Business”, and the season seemed to wrap up right before FitzGerald’s 32nd birthday.
Sheen was 46 playing someone who was 49–52
Caplan was 32–33 playing someone who was 40–43
FitzGerald was 31 playing someone who was 36–40
SEASON FOUR
There are no huge time jumps with season four, which takes place from December 1968 to August 1969. Libby, who celebrated her 40th birthday at the end of last season, is the same age throughout this season. Bill would’ve celebrated his 53rd birthday during the events of the first episode, and Johnson would’ve celebrated her 44th birthday in between the events of episodes two and three. By the end of the series, Masters is 53, Johnson is 44, and Libby is 40.
Season four was filmed from June to September 2016. As with the previous two seasons, Lizzy Caplan celebrated a birthday during production, turning 34 during the filming of “The Pleasure Protocol”. FitzGerald also celebrated her 33rd birthday during the filming of “Topeka”.
Since my YouTube channel got taken done, I’ve decided I’ll be spreading the word about Masters of Sex on Twitter! Follow me at @jastersmohnson. I’ll be posting more frequently there, my intention in the long run being to hopefully get more people talking about Masters of Sex.
Lizzy Caplan’s full thoughts on the “Monkey Business” episode
This is from an article that was published in December. I just discovered it (apologies if it’s already been shared), but I thought it was pretty illuminating. I had no idea that Lizzy had such distain for the scene, I do feel very sorry for her. It’s bizarre that Michelle Ashford and the writers insisted on the storyline making it to air when the cast and crew seemed fairly vocal about it being a bad idea, and the critics and audience have almost unanimously agreed that it’s the worst episode of the show by several degrees.
So here’s Lizzy’s full thoughts on the scene/storyline, filmed on her birthday, June 30, 2015:
“This was season three, which was not our strongest season — like, objectively and for some very valid reasons that are not worth getting into now. It was not as refined, let’s say, as the first couple seasons.
“So, it was summer. We were deep into shooting the season and one weekend Annaleigh Ashford, who is amazing and lovely and was on the show, she was doing a cabaret show in Las Vegas. A bunch of us decided to go. My birthday was that upcoming Monday and it was also the very early days of dating my now-husband. We wanted to go have this fun, early birthday Vegas weekend.
“It was a perfectly debauched weekend and then we flew back to LA Sunday night and I was in pretty rough shape. Very hung over. Like, Vegas hung over. And then Monday morning, crack of dawn, I had to be back at work.
“We were shooting in Griffith Park all day. It was easily 100 degrees outside. So hot and there was not a lot of shade and I was still feeling pretty bad from the night before. Exhausted, nauseous, overheating in all those wool clothes that people wore back in the 50s, with 30 undergarments underneath.
“And I’m also dreading the scene we had to shoot that day. I had been trying to convince myself that it wasn’t going to be as bad as I feared because this is a respectable show! The setup of the episode — I have never watched this nor will I ever watch it — was that esteemed sex researchers Masters and Johnson are called to the St. Louis Zoo because their gorilla just won’t mate and (the zoo staff) are tearing their hair out and they need help. And who are you going to call? Sex researchers.
“Somehow Masters and Johnson come to this realization that this frigid — I don’t even know if you can use the word ‘frigid’ for a male gorilla? — but this frigid gorilla needed motivation to get there. So my character, Virginia Johnson, does the most obvious and logical thing, which is to expose her breasts to the gorilla to inspire him to mate.
“When I tell you the amount of times we tried to push back on this storyline (laughs) to no avail. So here we are on set, it’s happening.
“And I remember this very, very vividly: I was feeling physically terrible, but also a deep, deep, deep embarrassment. I think it was hour 13 of what ended up being a 16-hour scorching hot day. And I’m unbuttoning my blouse to show my boobs to a man in a gorilla suit. And also, please don’t forget: It was my birthday.
“The camera was focused on my back, so you didn’t see nudity. You see me from behind, opening my blouse — I’m 90% sure it was only from the back. Again, I haven’t seen it. From my understanding, I wasn’t showing nudity, but it was very implied. And nudity was not uncommon on that show.
“So I remember looking over at the camera guy and I just saw the pity on his face as he’s mouthing: ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.’ And he was actually a camera guy on ‘Fleishman is in Trouble,’ so we were just reminiscing about this.
“So I do the thing and I’m filled with a deep guttural shame — I didn’t want to do it but I had to do it. Then (laughs), the man in the gorilla suit — who is the only person on set having a worse day than me because it’s a billion degrees outside and he had to spend the whole day in this gorilla suit — he, in character, reacts to this display and then the gorilla is in fact inspired (laughs) by a human woman flashing him her breasts.
“And then the guy proceeds to go and start mating with the female gorilla.
“But the really crazy thing is that the guy in the female gorilla suit? That was the male gorilla’s actual son.
“So he had to look at me, and then make his way over to his son and pretend to mate with him.
“And I just wanted to walk into the ocean and die. That was the worst moment I’ve ever had at work.
“Working on that show was one of the most collaborative experiences, which was probably why this felt extra strange. There were things that pushed my level of comfort, but certainly, it was all my own choice and I was aiming to push it. I was never pushed by any producers to do anything I didn’t want to do — up until this point. There were a lot of times on that show where I had to steel myself in my trailer beforehand for scenes that I really believed in, but I was never pushed into doing anything. Which is why this felt like such an anomaly.
“When I signed up for this show, I had a pretty good idea of what might be involved. But it’s safe to assume that I did not anticipate I would be asked to show my breasts to a man in a gorilla suit in order to inspire the gorilla to mate.
“But also that’s what made everybody so sad. This was a show that was so respected and deservedly so. This is one of the jobs I’m most proud of ever, I’m so happy I was in this show. But there was something stinky about this third season. And to all of a sudden go from this lofty level of prestige to flashing your breasts to a gorilla — that feels like a pretty steep drop.
“The scene was made up, I say that with 99% certainty. I think they really were asked to go to the zoo, but I highly doubt — because it doesn’t even make sense! I don’t think this is how animal psychology works. I have no degree in animal husbandry, but I think it’s safe to assume this was a flight of fancy from some writer.
“Michael Sheen was as horrified as I was, if not more so somehow. Nobody wanted to look anybody else in the eye the whole time (laughs), it was horrifying.
“And it was so clear that everybody — the crew, who feel like the true team you’re playing on — we all felt the same. I couldn’t wait to get to a point where this was funny. But in that moment, it didn’t feel funny to me at all.
“I was probably a little more afraid to speak about this thing, even in a joking way, at first. But we had to do some press pretty soon after and Michael Sheen just went right into how stupid this gorilla thing was (laughs).
“I can’t imagine what this was like for the two guys in the gorilla suits. And they were clearly the best in the business. They were great at being gorillas! But you need therapy after that.
“I just imagine them driving home in complete silence (laughs) not knowing how to process the day.
“Perhaps we should employ the use of female breasts to solve all the world’s problems. Female breasts will heal the world — or at least, the world of the frigid gorillas in 1950s St. Louis.
“When I heard about this column, I knew there was no other story that would hold a candle to the level of deep shame I felt. I was feeling anger when I got home at the end of that day, but my boyfriend and I had this dinner reservation, and by the time we went to dinner, I was a shell of a human. It was definitely a memorable birthday.”
One of my videos that got deleted forever from my YouTube channel was the series recap I made, which was basically just the entire series condensed to thirteen minutes.
Well, I made another! This one is about four minutes longer, I included some storylines that I didn’t in the last one, such as Bill’s impotence in season two and the homosexuality work in season four.
Alright everyone, I’ve got everything uploaded to Google Drive! A lot of it is stuff from the YouTube channel, some stuff you may have never seen before. Take a look! (And thank you very much to those who left the nice messages on the last post!)
Shit news everybody, my Masters & Johnson YouTube channel has been taken down. For those who were unfamiliar, it had all the Masters of Sex episodic promos, trailers, lots of clips, an unofficial Masters of Sex OST, and some goofy trailer parodies I made. Well, every single video received a copyright strike and my channel was disabled as a result.
The bad news is that I do not have backups of many of the videos posted. For example, my Series Recap, which was basically the entire series condensed to 13 minutes (and took weeks to make) is gone forever. Same thing with my complete series trailer, which used footage from all four seasons.
But here is what I do have copies of: all the promos and trailers (including all the episodic ones) and the unofficial soundtrack.
I’m looking into ways to post this stuff so you all can have access to all of it again, like maybe through Google Drive or the Internet Archives. I also have a bunch of Masters of Sex stuff that I never posted before, like all the trailer/promo music and some behind the scenes pictures. So in the coming days I’ll be trying to post all this stuff.
Per The AV Club: Premium cable has lost an icon today, with Deadline saying that Showtime set to be killed off and replaced with a newly rebranded network called Paramount+ With Showtime—which, let’s be clear, may be one of the worst rebrandings of all time.
I’m not saying I predicted the future, but just four days ago, I was asking how long the network might have left considering how largely unwatched the majority of it’s series catalog is nowadays.
I will say, I’m not celebrating this. For starters, per the Hollywood Reporter, there are lots of layoffs happening because of this merger. Also, within the last few days, shows such as Let the Right One In, American Gigolo, American Rust, Kidding, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida have all been removed from Showtime’s streaming service and apparently won’t be part of the “Paramount+ with Showtime”.
Also according to the Hollywood Reporter, “Showtime is expected to let the rights holders for the impacted programs shop the series. Let the Right One In, for example, is already being shopped.” Will this also apply to some of their earlier shows like Masters of Sex, Nurse Jackie, The Big C (shows that were removed from Showtime’s streaming service years ago)? I certainly hope so.
I found this old(ish) tweet by Michael Sheen. My first thought was Michael Sheen looks good in a turtleneck. My second thought was wait a minute, this was taken back when they were filming the show. My third thought was wait a minute! I own that exact turtleneck (which I wear regularly now!)
(I didn’t mention it at the time but I did acquire one of Bill’s suit jackets, it’s one that he wears in eps. 403, 406, and 410—pictured below. It’s like a grey suit but it has a rust pattern. It happens to fit perfectly!)
So I’m not dead! I’ve been tending to some of my other fandoms, and to be honest, I’ve definitely fallen out of the Masters loop. I haven’t seen the show in more than three years, my last rewatch being at the end of 2019. But something the last few weeks got me reminiscing about the show and suddenly I’ve been playing catch up on all the things I’ve missed and am now just discovering. Lizzy Caplan had a baby! Michael Sheen had two! Caitlin Fitzgerald had a baby and got married! Michelle Ashford has a new movie out!
Anyway, I’m not starting another rewatch of the show just right now. I am a firm believer in absence making the heart grow fonder, so I do know that whenever that time comes, I’ll have a blast rewatching it. And when I do rewatch it, I’ll be sure to do something. Maybe another episode ranking or ranking all of Bill’s bowties, I don't know.
There are just a few thoughts that do come to mind. First, it’s no secret that I’ve made my complaints known about Showtime removing Masters from their streaming service (and by that I mean they FUCKING SUCK for doing that), but just gauging the popularity of Masters nowadays, to my horror it seems to be mostly forgotten—and that’s pretty much only because it’s not streaming anywhere. Netflix, please, give it a chance!
Speaking of Showtime... man have they gone downhill since Masters of Sex ended. Apparently Yellowjackets is really good, but that’s the only thing real thing they seem to have going on. When I made a post similar to this discussing the state of Showtime, I mentioned Billions as being the one bright spot of all their program at the time... well that show has gone downhill hard. But beyond Billions and Yellowjackets, I don’t hear anything about their other programming. You really have to wonder just how much longer Showtime has until it’s acquired by some larger company. Maybe then Masters of Sex will be actually featured in a streaming catalog. Maybe they’ll even be brought back?
Regarding the Masters of Sex cancellation, I’ve definitely accepted it. In fact, as time has gone on, the more I appreciate the ending. I think I had it in my mind that if season five were to exist, it would chronicle their lives into the 21st century, but the more I think about it... that probably wouldn’t have been the case. The show probably would’ve ended in the late seventies. Chronicling three decades in ten episodes would be a nightmare, and gradually aging Michael and Lizzy would be a challenge. In case I didn’t make it clear by ranking “The Eyes of God” as my third or fourth favorite Masters of Sex episode, I really do love the way the show ends, but what’s always bothered me was that the writers didn’t know it was going to be the end when they wrote it.
So I’m totally fine if that’s it and that’s how Masters of Sex does definitively end, but I’ve also been encouraged by Michael and Lizzy implying in some interview years ago that they’d be more than happy to come back at any given time. So there’s always hope!
So Westworld has recently been taken off of HBO Max. While I haven’t seen the show and I didn’t really care when it was cancelled last month, it’s a pretty lousy move to remove a show that you produced off of your streaming platform.
This is something Showtime has been routinely guilty of. Masters of Sex, Nurse Jackie, The Big C, Web Therapy, and even Weeds (Showtime’s flagship show at the time) have all been unavailable on Showtime’s streaming platform for years. I never knew why, although I suspected it had something to do with financials.
Well, in the wake of Westworld’s pulling from HBO Max, Scott Weinberg on Twitter has pointed that this move is actually a lousy tactic from the network to get out of paying residuals to the cast and crew. Suddenly it all makes sense!
