It seems that the climax of Masters Of Sex has come and gone, and we didn’t even realize it. Showtime has declined to issue a fifth season renewal for the drama, and it will therefore not return to screens – meaning that the season four finale that aired on November 10th will now stand as the series closer.
The show starred Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as William Masters and Virginia Johnson, and was based on the biography of the same, by Thomas Maier. It chronicled the work, life and times of these two real life researchers into sex and sexuality, and was developed by Michelle Ashford. The final episode of season four saw William and Virginia marry each other, at last, and it seems that Showtime felt this was a good point to cut the drama loose.
In terms of ratings, Masters Of Sex has not performed as well as other Showtime dramas, such as Ray Donovan and Shameless. It does have a core of dedicated viewers, however, who will surely be saddened by the sudden and unexpected demise of this award-winning series.
Undoubtedly, the network will be hoping that the timing of the cancellation – in coordination with the wedding of the two lead characters – will go some way to heading off any fan backlash or petition-signing effort they might be faced with. In terms of shows ending, there can be few things more satisfying than seeing the central characters stroll down the aisle.