Showtime Renews 'Masters of Sex' and 'Ray Donovan'

Showtime is keeping its Sunday night summer lineup intact for another year.

The network has given 12-episode third-season renewals to both Masters of Sex and Ray Donovan. Production on the new seasons are scheduled to begin in early 2015.

“Both Ray Donovan and Masters Of Sex are quintessentially Showtime: bold, provocative, premium television with production values at the top of the food chain,” said Showtime president David Nevins.

Centering on human sexuality pioneers William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan), Masters of Sex nabbed five Emmy nominations, including a win for Allison Janney as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series at the Creative Arts Emmys last Saturday. However, Ray Donovan hasn't been shut out of the awards, as star Jon Voight is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

In short, both shows have their share of critical acclaim. Yet they're both commercially successful for Showtime, as both series have seen double-digit increases in the ratings from their premieres earlier this season. Naturally, since both shows are pretty compelling dramas, this is great news. In particular, I'm a huge Masters of Sex fan, which does period drama/character study about as well as any show on TV. Meanwhile, Ray Donovan has an outstanding cast of seasoned veterans and young up-and-coming stars, wrapped around a pretty compelling story. So you'll get no argument from me on this news.

Via: Deadline

Credit: Showtime