TCAs: Showtime talks 'Masters of Sex'

Beverly Hill -- This fall Showtime will launch a new series based on the distinguished biography of sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson by veteran Newsday investigative reporter, Thomas Maier, but yesterday, critics here got a first look at the cast that will front this intriguing newcomer, notably Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan.

Both had much to say about their roles (see below), but let's step back to see what Maier had to say about his sudden entry into the world of Hollywood. While Tom was not on the panel yesterday, his presence was very much felt, as showrunners Sarah Timberman and Michelle Ashford cited the book as both primary source and inspiration, from which they do not deviate or embellish.

Per Ashford, "Their story is fascinating and we had a biography to work from, Thomas Maier’s book, and so we’ve stuck to the facts very carefully. Certainly, the research, we’ve fudged none of that. We’ve established some characters. But their lives were so complicated and interesting, we’ve had to establish very little, actually."  They added that his assistance has been essential because Maier is the only journalist to have talked with Johnson, who died last week at the age of 88. He is, they say, very much the conduit to this central character on the show.

In a new edition of his book, distributed here yesterday, Maier writes that "television is our most personal medium [and] it seemed the perfect canvas to capture both the audacity and nobility of Bill and Gini's work. In this series, there are indeed scenes of naked volunteers testing the boundaries of orgasm in the name of science. But there are also many moments of yearning and even desperation among sexually dysfunctional couples, most of them married, seeking Masters and Johnson's help in order to express themselves, intimately in communion with each other."

Meanwhile, here's Sheen, talking about his role in the series:

And Caplan: