'Masters of Sex' Moving to Summer, Pairing With 'Ray Donovan'

One of the best new dramas of last fall is now looking to become the best of the summer.

Showtime will be replacing the dearly-departed Dexter this summer with Masters of Sex, which will now be paired on Sunday nights with crime drama Ray Donovan. Both shows will premiere their second seasons on July 13, with Masters of Sex bowing at 9:00 PM while Ray Donovan premieres at 10:00 PM.

Naturally, this means Masters of Sex, currently filming its second season, will need to speed up production in order to meet its new July premiere date, which is kind of a cruel thing to just randomly spring on a show. Especially a show that greatly benefits from careful, attentive writing. I honestly don't see how rushing this season benefits anybody, but hopefully enough of the season is already in the can that it should buy the production team a few extra weeks after the premiere to finish up the back half of the season.

Credit: Showtime

Of course, this leaves the question of what will replace Masters of Sex as the Sunday night partner for Homeland, Showtime's highest-rated program. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but smart money says the replacement will be The Affair, the upcoming drama (created by one of the writers behind HBO's In Treatment) about the fallout between two married couples embroiled in an affair. Perhaps the show can ride the Homeland lead-in to ratings success, in much the same way Ray Donovan claimed the record for highest-rated first season for a series in Showtime history primarily off the strength of its Dexter lead-in.

What do you think about the move? Is Masters of Sex better off in the summer? Or is Showtime making a mistake by rushing it off of the fall schedule? Sound off in the comments!

Via: AV Club