Masters of Sex (2013)
William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 29 September 2013 |
| Status | Canceled |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Michelle Ashford |
| Starring | Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan and Caitlin FitzGerald |
| Seasons | 4 seasons, 46 episodes |
| Episode length | about 60 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 46 hours |
| Rated | TV-MA |
| Scores | TMDB users 7.1/10 |
Where to watch Masters of Sex
We could not find Masters of Sex on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Where to watch Masters of Sex in 2 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Angola | Prime Video |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Masters of Sex is a drama that turns the history of human sexuality into a workplace story about two people who cannot stop talking about it. The hook is the friction between William Masters, a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and Virginia Johnson, a single working mother ahead of her time. It tracks their journey from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and onto Johnny Carson’s couch. The series runs 46 episodes across 4 seasons, totaling 46 hours of watch time. It is not a romance in the traditional sense, but a study in how two people can be intellectually in sync while emotionally miles apart.
What the critics said
Critics didn’t just like the first season of Masters of Sex; they adored it. Rotten Tomatoes shows a 90% approval rating across 59 reviews, averaging 8.3 out of 10. Metacritic is slightly less effusive at 86 out of 100. The American Film Institute ranked it a top ten series of 2013. Alan Sepinwall called it "the best new show of the fall by a very long stretch." Robert Lloyd noted the subject remains "stubbornly powerful" despite modern ease of access. The second season followed suit, scoring 89 on Metacritic and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. High scores, high praise, high expectations.
How it did with audiences
On TMDB, users rate it 7.1 out of 10. That is a solid number for a drama that tries to turn awkward bedside moments into a sweeping romance. It suggests viewers found the chemistry convincing, even if the script sometimes leaned a little too hard on the awkwardness. The rating says the film works, provided you are in the mood for a story about learning to love someone who is very, very bad at it.
What came next for the cast
Michael Sheen swapped vampire sagas for space operas and talking dogs. Lizzy Caplan moved from survival dramas to heists and romances. Caitlin FitzGerald left indie dramas for HBO’s boardrooms. Annaleigh Ashford transitioned from fashion films to crime dramas. These shifts define the years after 2013. The film did not cause them. It just happened to be in the middle of the shuffle.
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TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Masters of Sex.
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Sources
- Masters of Sex on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q2579196 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Masters of Sex” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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