Showtime has given series orders to a pair of star-studded dramas, picking up both “Masters of Sex” and “Ray Donovan.”
Both “Masters of Sex” and “Ray Donovan” have been given 12 episode orders and will film in Los Angeles with yet-to-be-determined 2013 premiere dates.
“Masters of Sex” stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as noted human sexuality scholars William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Michelle Ashford adapted the pilot from Thomas Maier’s “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love,” with “Shakespeare in Love” director John Madden at the helm.
The “Masters of Sex” cast also includes Caitlin Fitzgerald, Nicholas D’Agosto and Teddy Sears, while Beau Bridges and Margo Martindale guest star in the pilot.
“Ray Donovan” was created by Ann Biderman (“Southland”) and features Liev Schreiber as a professional trouble shooter who can fix everybody’s problems but his own. The cast around Schreiber includes Elliot Gould, Jon Voight, Dash Mihok, Eddie Marsan, Paula Malcomson, Kate Moennig, Steve Bauer, Johnathon Schaech and Peter Jacobson.
Blurbs Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins, “‘Ray Donovan’ and ‘Masters of Sex,’ each in their own distinctive ways, represent the caliber of programming we want to bring to our subscribers. Both series are ambitious and expansive, and feature great writing and great acting. I’m so excited for viewers to experience these two new dramas, which I believe will prove to be fantastic complements to our current slate of programming.”