When the Masters of Sex cast and producers took the stage on Tuesday at the Television critics Association press tour, they had to face scrutiny from the reporters about the direction of the third season of the Showtime series.
Among the specific plot points that raised confusion in the Michael Sheen-Lizzy Caplan drama: the sudden focus on family and the addition of two new babies. This drama tells the story of real-life sex researchers Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson, giving each of the lead characters three children.
However, there have been many movies over the years regarding true stories. Admittedly, TV shows have rarely ventured to tell something from history in the way that Showtime has with Masters of Sex. The story that we learnt today is among the most interesting ones that we’ve heard.
In an interview, the executive producer Michelle Ashford, at the TCA Summer Press Tour, revealed that the story regarding Virginia’s unplanned pregnancy this season was the one that was actually added for legal reasons, and were not created. Interpretation of this is simply that maybe Virginia’s living descendants did not want to face any direct comparison to anything that happened on the show, which is mostly just following the spirit of Masters and Johnson’s lives more than any other event.
This is something which is to be taken care off over the years, given that many characters were created specifically for the purpose of the show and they were advised to add children to protect people that are still alive. It wasn’t a storytelling prerogative. It had to protect living people.
The fairly tranquil ballroom at the Beverly Hilton got a bit cantankerous when eager reporters wanted answers on the controversial new additions to Masters of Sex Season 3. When asked about the decision to include an infant who doesn’t exist in real life, creator Michelle Ashford explained that it was strictly legal. The reporters at the TCA Summer Press Tour didn’t let her off the hook that easy.
Ultimately there is no real problem with this, given that “Masters of Sex” never really struck as a perfect historical representation, and is meant solely for entertainment, first and foremost. Showtime has revealed that in the third Season of Masters of Sex, William and Virginia finally publishes their first book, Human Sexual Response, the fruit of the pair’s work and affair.
Artbeat reports that the newest season premiers the release of William and Virginia’s book and the reaction of the public after reading it. Apart from the book’s launch, Season 3 shows how William and Virginia, who are longtime lovers, are beginning to act as old married couple while on the other hand how Libby passively accepts the affair.
Furthermore, Episode 1 of Season 3 features the young children of William and Libby, and Virginia with her divorced husband, as grown-ups and how these children as young adults caused conflict until Episode 3. William and Virginia see this domestic nuisance as a consequence of their previous actions.