Showtime today announced the renewals of its Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series “Homeland” and the critically-acclaimed drama “Masters of Sex” for their fourth and second seasons, respectively. Both series are set to return in 2014 with 12 one-hour episodes. “Homeland” airs on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by “Masters of Sex” at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.
“‘Homeland’ continues to prove its strength for Showtime, and is one of television’s most exciting, provocative and widely-discussed shows. It has grown its audience significantly in each of its three seasons,” said Nevins. “The critical and audience reaction to ‘Masters of Sex’ since its great launch has been incredibly gratifying. It’s a privilege to get to work with such talented and creative people as Alex Gansa and Michelle Ashford, as well as their tremendous casts. They have each created truly original shows, with distinctive voices that are among the most admired series on television.”
The network’s No.1 rated series, “Homeland” continues its growth trajectory in season three with 6.5 million weekly viewers, up 26 percent from its second season in the same time frame (vs. 5.1 million). Developed for American television by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, and based on the original Israeli series “Prisoners of War” by Gideon Raff, “Homeland” stars Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin. The series also stars Morena Baccarin, Rupert Friend, Sarita Choudhoury, Tracy Letts, Jackson Pace, Morgan Saylor and F. Murray Abraham. Along with Gansa and Gordon, the executive producers for season three are Gideon Raff, Chip Johannessen, Alexander Cary, Henry Bromell, Avi Nir and Ran Telem. The series is produced by Fox 21.
“Masters of Sex” currently averages 5.4 million weekly viewers in its freshman season, up 33 percent from “Homeland’s” first season in the same time frame. The series stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, who portray real-life human sexuality pioneers, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory. The show is an adaptation of Thomas Maier’s book “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love.” The pilot episode was directed by John Madden, who also serves as executive producer. The series also stars Caitlin Fitzgerald in the role of Masters’ wife, Nicholas D’Agosto and Teddy Sears. Beau Bridges and Margo Martindale also appear. “Masters of Sex” was created and executive produced by Michelle Ashford. The series is executive produced by Timberman Beverly Productions’ Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman, and Judith Verno. Michael Sheen and Tammy Rosen serve as producers. “Masters of Sex” is produced by Sony Pictures Television.
