WOODY ALLEN ANNOUNCES THE FULL CAST OF HIS LATEST FILM STARRING TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET, ELLE FANNING, SELENA GOMEZ,

JUDE LAW, DIEGO LUNA & LIEV SCHREIBER

Co-Stars Include Annaleigh Ashford, Rebecca Hall, Cherry Jones,

Will Rogers, & Kelly Rohrbach

NEW YORK (September 11, 2017) – Woody Allen officially revealed the full cast of his new untitled feature film. Jude Law, Diego Luna, and Liev Schreiber join Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, and Selena Gomez who were previously announced. Co-starring, in alphabetical order, are Annaleigh Ashford, Rebecca Hall, Cherry Jones, Will Rogers, and Kelly Rohrbach. Amazon Studios will release the film theatrically.

Allen’s latest completed theatrical film is “Wonder Wheel” starring James Belushi, Juno Temple, Justin Timberlake, and Kate Winslet, which will make its world premiere as the closing night film of the New York Film Festival in October. Produced by Letty Aronson, Erika Aronson, and Ed Walson, and financed by Amazon Studios, the drama is set in Coney Island during the 1950s and includes larger-than-life characters, lovers, infidelity, and gangsters. Amazon will release the film in select markets on December 1^st with a national theatrical expansion to follow. Following its theatrical run, “Wonder Wheel” will be available exclusively to Amazon Prime members through Prime Video.

Last year marked Allen’s first collaboration with Amazon Studios, which acquired and released “Café Society,” and financed and distributed the filmmaker’s first foray into television, “Crisis in Six Scenes.”

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"Masters of Sex is better than ever.” 

--The Oregonian, Kristi Turnquist

Starring Michael Sheen & Lizzy Caplan as Masters & Johnson

MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO

Available March 30 on Digital HD

Coming to Blu-ray™ & DVD May 5

Bonus Features Include Deleted Scenes & All-New Featurettes including a Blu-ray™ Exclusive Roundtable Discussion with the Men of “Sex”

CULVER CITY, Calif. (March 11, 2015) – Showtime’s hit drama returns when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO on Digital HD March 30 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD May 5. The smart and provocative series follows real-life pioneers, Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, as they research the science of human sexuality. In season two, Michael Sheen (Midnight in Paris) returns as the brilliant and renowned fertility specialist (Dr. William Masters), and Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls) plays his invaluable assistant and lover (Virginia Johnson). One of the most compelling, real-life event dramas on television, MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO finds Masters and Johnson in a continual struggle to get their work back on track, while their personal relationship becomes much more intimate and complex.

Based on the book by Thomas Maier, the second season features an extraordinary cast, including Caitlin FitzGerald (It’s Complicated), Teddy Sears (“American Horror Story”), Annaleigh Ashford (Top Five), and Nicholas D'Agosto (Final Destination 5). Season two also brings back series’ fan favorites, including Beau Bridges (The Descendants), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County) and Allison Janney (“Mom”), along with new characters played by Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee), Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”) and Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”).

All 12 episodes of MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO will be available on the Blu-ray™ and DVD sets, along with the compelling “Making History” featurette that explores the time period shift from the ‘50s to the ‘60s, along with the social issues introduced. The Blu-ray™ will also contain deleted scenes and two exclusive, never-before-seen pieces: a fascinating roundtable with the men, as well as a featurette that portrays the strong and complex female characters.

MASTERS OF SEX was developed for television by Michelle Ashford (The Pacific) who also serves as an executive producer. In addition, the series is executive produced by Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, Judith Verno and Amy Lippman. Michael Apted, Michael Sheen, Tammy Rosen and Thomas Maier serve as producers. MASTERS OF SEX is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Synopsis

Having been dismissed by Maternity Hospital, Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) needs a place where he and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) can resume their work. But thanks to their study’s controversial topic – sex – they are forced out of two more hospitals before deciding to open their own clinic. With the seeds of the sexual revolution being sown and the simmering civil rights movement exploding around them, the intimate relationship they started under the guise of their research unravels as the result of Masters’ sudden impotence. With the prospect of treating sexual dysfunction becoming increasingly important to their patients and themselves, at home Masters confronts his wife’s growing disaffection and the unexpected return of his estranged brother, while Johnson faces a crisis of her own when the publicity surrounding their work places the custody of her two children in doubt.

DVD Special Features:

·         “Making History” Featurette – An exploration of the time period shift from the ‘50s to the ‘60s, including the introduction of Alcoholics Anonymous, diet pills and the start of the Civil Rights movement.

Blu-ray™ Exclusive Special Features:

·         Deleted Scenes

·         “The Men of Sex:  Actors’ Roundtable” – A cast roundtable featuring the men on what it means to be a “man” on this show, including Michael Sheen, Teddy Sears, Beau Bridges, Jocko Sims & Kevin Christy.

·         “The Women of Sex” – A featurette exploring the show’s powerful team of women, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. 

MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO episodes include:

Parallax

Kyrie Eleison

Fight

Dirty Jobs

Giants

Blackbird

Asterion

Mirror, Mirror

Story of My Life

Below the Belt

One for the Money, Two for the Show

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Broadcast Year: 2014.  MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON TWO is rated TV-MA, for ADULT CONTENT, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE & NUDITY.

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company.  Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

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Bill and Virginia have have made substantial strides in their goal of curing Bill's impotence, through a process of seven nights of nonsexual touching, seven of sexual touching, and then seven of successful coitus. Bill is thrilled at this, dreaming that he is JFK, with Virginia as Jackie O. The dream is a great power fantasy that has them travelling down a street in a parade, until Libby appears, blocking the road and causing Bill to wake up.

Libby is thinking back to her passionate affair with Robert. Her feelings are conflicted, having enjoyed it a great deal, but feeling guilty just the same. When she heads into the CORE office, Robert stays discrete by not reacting any differently upon seeing her.

George has returned with the kids and tells Virginia he wants time with them. The trip went over well and he considers his new wife to be the ideal mother as opposed to Virginia and her long working hours. Now they'll have to reexamine their original custody agreement and unfortunately for Virginia, George never signed the original one so it is void. Virginia asks Herb for advice again and it's not looking too good since George has already contacted a lawyer and plans to smear her name and work in court to make her seem like an unfit mother so he can get his way.

Shep brings in a rough cut of the CBS documentary to show Bill, Virginia, and Lester. Bill and Lester are angered by its focusing on improving marital bliss instead of the biological and physiological findings on sex, while Virginia is more inclined to focus on the positive aspects of it, like it giving them an audience. Bill is further stressed by the fact that Dr. Kaufman has plans to release his book on a similar study in two months. Virginia believes that the audience they attract will be interested and then choose to read their work. In secret, Bill decides to try to call someone to dig up some dirt on Kaufman.

Libby visits Robert in the middle of the night. He's alone because Coral is in Atlanta to help fight for civil rights. Robert apologises for their affair but Libby gets upset by this. He suggests that he was only with her for the danger, and Libby counters this by saying that perhaps he was with her because he wanted her. He gives in and they go at it once more.

Virginia asks Libby for advice regarding her custody battle. Virginia thinks she'll have to quit her job to be with the kids but Libby thinks that this won't help her case with the judge. Libby begins to fear what would happen if she and Bill were to split up and how a custody battle would play out between them. The ladies agree that the most important thing is that children be safe, happy, and know they are loved.

Bill is still aiming to stop the documentary. He tries to get Lester to get back into the study to treat his sexual dysfunction. Lester doesn't see the need, as he now as Barb as his girlfriend. They go on dates together and have found their own way to be together without being sexual. Bill implores him to reconsider, saying that sex is as basic as breathing and that one's body will rebel if it is denied that. Bill then reaves Kaufman's draft of his book, Man and Sex. He doesn't seem that threatened by the content, as he doesn't see it as being particularly scientific. He becomes more confident that his study will outdo Kaufman's.

Bill is shocked to learn that Virginia has reversed her custody agreement with George. She will now only get her kids once a week and every other weekend. She has risked her claim to them on the success of their documentary. To make matters worse, they learn that another network will be airing a film about Kaufman and his "groundbreaking study on human sexuality and the book he will be publishing. Also, Kaufman's partner is Ethan, Virginia's ex. Virginia is emotionally distraught, blaming herself for the fact that they lost the documentary and that CBS won't be airing the film they shot. Her giving away her children will not be temporary as she had originally thought. The documentary was supposed to provide some legitimacy to her work. Bill does is best to comfort her, but only has himself to blame, as his actions led to CBS pulling the plug on the documentary. He had Kaufman's work leaked to another network.

Bill later meets with Barton, who as it turns out, was the one who got hold of the manuscript and leaked it on Bill's behalf. He didn't know that Bill hadn't told Virginia and scolds him for being bullheaded in his single-mindedness, thus hurting the people around him. Bill has done this before, in his blackmailing Barton to keep his study going while at Maternity, and says he'll likely do it again. Bill insists that he never meant to hurt Virginia and Barton simply tells him that he never does. Barton's back at work and still with Margaret. Though it's not easy, the couple is working through his being gay together.

When Robert tries to tell Libby that their affair must end, she laughs him off. She tells him Bill has been having an affair for years and she just always looked the other way. But now that she has met Robert, she wants to feel. This is quite the revelation, as we were always led to believe that Libby naively didn't know about Bill and Virginia.

But now Bill and Virginia are back to work, side-by-side, preparing to help Lester and Barb. They tell the couple that it will take the two of them working together and that will be the key to curing their dysfunctions.

Masters of Sex will return on Showtime for season 3.

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Bill is still suffering from secondary impotence and his brother Frank has gone back to Kansas city with his wife. Bill hasn't spoken to him since they had their physical confrontation.Virginia suggests putting some makeup on his face to hide the injury since they're going to be on camera telling the story of their study as part of the PR plan. Bill is more preoccupied being stressed about the fact that he can wake up with an erection but struggle to perform with Virginia. But there isn't time to focus on that at the moment so he puts some of Libby's make-up on before heading out to the office.

Virginia is also getting ready and speaking with the father of her children, who is back from Paris. He has married a woman named Audrey and has something he wants to tell Virginia but she's too busy getting ready to listen. The CBS cameramen have arrived at the office and are preparing to shoot the Masters and Johnson story. PR man Shep has plenty of suggestions, from Bill needing his makeup to be touched up, and for him to wear a tie instead of a bow tie. Bill also needs to play up the family man angle. Bill tells Virginia he's not a salesman but it looks as if he'll have to be.

Langham is back from a business trip and needs to pick up some more brochures since he's all out. Flo is upset to learn that Clark Gable has suffered a heart attack while changing a tire. She launches into an explanation of how Clark Gable is a real man and his carrying Scarlett up the staircase in "Gone With The Wind" was a sexually appealing scene for many ladies. Langham doesn't understand the appeal and Flo questions his knowledgeability on what womyn really want, finding it ironic considering how many he has been with. He's offended by the idea that he's not a man's man so she challenges him to prove it. She commands him to break into her home and have his way with her.

Libby is downstairs at CORE, a place where she is slowly learning to find some usefulness outside of the role of dutiful wife and mother. The group is waiting to hear news about the recent arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr. at a protest.

Bill and Virginia do a preliminary interview to prepare them for the do's and don'ts of being on camera. Virginia is her usual charming self whereas Bill is stiff and uncomfortable. She's doing her best to try to guide him but it's just not working. Also, the censors won't allow Bill to use a lot of his usual vocabulary, be it "masturbation," "dildo," or "orgasm." Also, the footage that they have for the study won't work for broadcast television. Lester tells the CBS worker that sanitising the clips will undercut the intentions of the study but the man won't listen to him.

Bill communicates his concerns to Libby when she brings him the tie and it allows him to find his voice when on camera. The purpose of the study is to promote conversations about human sexuality and the words they're keeping him from saying should be commonplace. This censorship only perpetuates shame, which fosters ignorance, which in turn prevents important and necessary change.

Lester communicates his concerns about the documentary to Bill while they are in the bathroom. Bill is beginning to see the merits of what they're doing now and Lester is taken aback by Bill changing his mind. The last time Bill tried to explain his work, things didn't work out well so this may be a better opportunity. Lester thinks this doesn't sound like the Bill Masters he knows. Bill insists he doesn't need a lecture but Lester says perhaps that's exactly what he needs. Lester has given a great deal of himself to this study and it's something he believes in just as much as Bill.

George stops by the office and pulls Virginia aside to say that he's headed back overseas on tour with his new wife Audrey and wants to bring the kids along for six weeks. The trip coincides with winter holidays so they'd only be missing two weeks of school and would get to see Europe. Virginia says no but George points out that Virginia hasn't been seeing as much of the kids lately, given all the work she has been doing. She later seeks advice from Herb, the divorce lawyer, who after receiving plenty of information advises her to let the kids go, lest it provoke a new custody battle that would ruin the overall good arrangement already in place.

Langham goes to Flo's place and she is all rearing to go with the roleplaying. Flo gets annoyed at Langham's lack of understanding the game they're meant to be playing but she still gets her way.

Bill is appalled when the camera crew set up a pretend intake interview to be filmed with a "couple" that is simply a pair of actors. It's designed to make Bill and Virginia look as if they're healing couples suffering from sexual dysfunction but they have yet to achieve any of that since they are still in the stages of compiling research. Shep and a producer point out that they are simply projecting what the study hopes to accomplish so it's not a complete lie, though Bill doesn't see it that way. He pulls Shep aside to express his displeasure at having to sell something that doesn't exist. Shep says they're all salesmen and that Bill needs to stake his claim and reach for his goal and be first.

At CORE, everyone is sent home but Robert and Libby are the last ones left at the office. Libby says she'll have to call a cab since she was supposed to get a ride home from Bill, who isn't finished upstairs yet. Robert offers her a lift home, which she accepts. During the ride home, Libby asks Robert if he enjoys testing her and he says he doesn't think she's stupid, simply uninformed. They've arrived at the Masters home and are parked outside and Libby explains that regardless, she cares about the cause. A police officer pulls over and racially profiles Robert, but Libby says he's just a co-worker that she has invited into her home. The cop tries to pick a fight but Libby breaks it up and brings Robert in.

A cameraman unintentionally prods Bill's insecurities about being with Virginia. The man's wife is attractive so he's used to the whole "beauty and the beast" attitude towards them. Bill can see why everyone would want Virginia but doubts why anyone would want him.

Libby insists on fixing Robert's shirt, which is now missing a button thanks to the cop. He points out that the neighbour watching the kids will have words to say about her inviting a "negro man" into the house. Libby assures him that the neighbour is not a gossip, adding that her daughter married a Mexican man.

Virginia tells her children that they'll be getting to go with their father to Europe. They tell her how strict their dad's new wife is and express concern over what Virginia will do for Christmas. She keeps a brave face on and says they can celebrate together when they return.

Robert tells Libby the button's too big but won't let her fix it when she offers to use a smaller one. He says he has a neighbour that can fix it. That neighbour would think he was asking for trouble by coming into a white woman's home and being alone with her at night. Libby asks about what it felt like to break the law and he said that was just the mistakes of a dumb kid. She's envious, having always been the teacher's pet. But now wanting to be good as an adult has made her quiet, so she forgets the sound of her own voice and people forget she's there, including her husband. But now she's met someone who doesn't like her very much, and thinks she's ignorant, prejudiced, and maybe she is. But it's almost a relief to have someone think ill of her because she's not invisible anymore.

Robert tells her she has a lot of nerve, talking about being discounted to someone who has never known anything but just that. Libby doesn't know who or what she is and says that if he kisses her, perhaps she can figure it out. He says she has the neighbour, the policeman, and her two children. But she kisses him and he kisses back. Then they're undressing and having sex on the kitchen floor. For once, Libby is experiencing passion and pleasure from sex.

Flo and Langham have finished their little roleplaying session. Langham thinks he should get points for not knowing the right way to take advantage of a woman. Flo explains that she's tired of being Rhett, the one who is denied what she wants. She wants to be Scarlett, who has things come easily to her, hence the roleplaying. She's been Rhett for a long time, waiting to be wanted. It makes you do the damnedest things. So she's not ready for their sexual meetings to be over yet. "Although it would be nice if you gave a damn."

Bill's insecurities have worn Bill down. The cameras are gone now and it's just him and Virginia in the exam room. Bill doesn't feel right about them being presented as saviours of sexual dysfunction when he hasn't even cured himself. He doesn't seen why anyone would want him in their living room. He doesn't have a Kennedy twinkle and isn't personable. He feels like a loser, like Nixon. Virginia says he has something important to stay but Bill doesn't even find himself attractive. Virginia gets frustrated, saying she's here, with him, instead of at home with her kids. What more reassurance could she offer him?

"I can't twinkle. I can't fuck." Bill's insecurities have reached a boiling point so Virginia hugs him to try to calm him down. He breaks down and collapses, so Virginia sits and stays cradling him.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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Bill meets with Pauline for her treatment. He offers to call Frank to make her feel comfortable but she says she would only do that if she felt it would help the two brothers to patch things up. Then the lights go out. Bill is angry but Betty has already called the electric company to tell them the late payment should have arrived by then, which it has, so the lights should be back on shortly. She also reminds him that he needs to sublet the extra space, as they need the money.

Virginia tells the psychiatrist the truth about her impersonating her friend to try to relay the advice. She admits that the bits she told him about the relationship with a married man was her truths and not her friends. He asks why she doesn't use the word affair and she says that that would imply something purely sexual and that her circumstances are far more complicated than that.

Bill and Virginia have not been having sex, as he is experiencing secondary impotence. He can perform when alone but not with a partner. He wants to find a cure. Virginia realises that the timing of Bill's problem coincided with his discovery of Virginia's relationship with Shelly. After that, they had stopped meeting at the hotel. Bill feels broken and says Virginia is the only one that can fix him. So now Virginia is on her high horse thinking that their not-affair has a higher cause.

Libby is still volunteering at CORE. Robert doesn't believe her to be of use beyond running errands. What they want to do will not work coming from a white woman, as it'll just be another white person trying to tell black people what to do. So she carries on running the errands.

Bill and Virginia learn a Dr. Joseph Kaufman is trying to publish a rival study on human sexuality. Bill is especially angry, as he wants to be the first to deliver this groundbreaking research to the world and perhaps even win a Nobel Prize for it.

Barbara and Lester meet at the office. Lester unintentionally insults Barbara's belief in God but later finds her in a diner to apologise. They find a connection over their sexual dysfunctions. He admires her for her faith, saying he was never able to find any solace in that.

Libby wants to prove her worth to CORE so she shows up uninvited to the group's strike canvassing, but not before asking Virginia to help with her alibi. Libby wants to avoid getting into an argument with Bill. She ends up doing quite well at the event, helping CORE to get signatures from 30 percent of the residents in the projects they visit. So later, Robert invites her to their next event.

Bill hires a PR specialist to help ensure that they get credit for their work. They show his around, explaining their work. The specialist suggests putting Bill and Virginia on television, spinning it as a human interest story plumbing the mysteries of desire. Bill finds this idea ridiculous, not wanting his serious research to be a joke on before Mr. Magoo. Virginia thinks it could be beneficial to bring awareness of the study to the masses. She asks Bill how he will feel if he does nothing and then Kaufman got the Nobel Prize.

Flo, the Cal-O-Metric lady has her eye set on Langham. She orders him to come over to her apartment. He tries to turn her down for sex but she refuses to take no for an answer. He tries to claim that his equipment won't work because he's not interested but then he rises to the occasion, enough for them to do it twice. Afterwards, Langham says he glad to have gotten that out of the way and is ready to resume a professional relationship. Langham likes his job and has become quite good at making these ladies feel good about themselves. But Flo assures him that he will be doing the same for her, making her feel young and pretty.

Virginia and Bill meet at the hotel and she takes the lead, commanding Bill not to touch her breasts and tying his hands behind his back. He isn't even allowed to move without her permission. It works at first but then she hurries to try to get him out and then he loses it.

Bill and his mother both disagree with the AA program and Bill and Frank are still on bad terms. Bill and his mother share a drink and say how they believe Frank wanting to make amends is just a way of putting the blame on them while disguising it as an apology. But some time later, Frank calls Bill to inform him that their mother has gotten into a car accident after having a drink. Frank is stitching up her face when Bill arrives. Frank thinks Bill enables her and denies the fact that she is an alcoholic. Bill orders frank to leave.

Libby takes their mother home while Bill and Frank have it out. Frank says that alcoholism runs in their family. The alcohol contributed to their father's abuse but Bill denies this, saying their father was bad as is. Frank has forgiven Bill and his father. Bill denies that Frank was ever beaten before getting vindictive. He taunts Frank, asking if he ever begged for the beatings to stop even though Bill never did. He says Frank is a weak little boy and a coward and keeps on pushing until Frank retaliates with a punch to the face. Bill responds with some slaps and then Frank punches him back. Bill laughs sardonically, saying "This is what binds us. Him living on in us. Not a bottle in sight."

This fight makes Bill late to the hotel room. Virginia is shocked to see Bill's face bloodied. He came to the hotel room because he didn't want to go home and have Libby see his face looking like raw meat. Virginia lays down next to him as he says he abandoned Frank to that monster and then punished him for it. He asks what's wrong with him and Virginia comforts him with kisses to his finger. He says he gives up and then puts his own blood on Virginia's face before kissing her. Things grow heated…

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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Virginia finishes telling her story which is actually from Barbara but the psychologist believes that she is not speaking about herself but then advises her to try saying "no" as her twelve-year-old self as a way of therapeutically changing the outcome.

Bill and Libby have Frank and his wife over for dinner. Bill and Frank's mother is also in attendance. Frank is a recovering alcoholic, whose condition nearly destroyed his marriage. Frank thinks that the things he learned in AA can also help him repair his relationship with Bill.

Bill decides to use Lester in order to learn more about sexual dysfunction. Bill is feeling insecure about what he sees as his own inadequacies. When Bill meets with Virginia, he plays off wanting to just service her by saying he has had too much to drink. So he hires a prostitute friend of Betty's to try to cure Lester.

Libby goes with Robert to meet a lawyer working for the activist group CORE. She shares her account of what she saw. The lawyer wants her to claim she remembered the first three numbers of the license plate, as it was witnessed by a different person on the scene who was not white. Robert doubts her ability to help, not believing that she'll be strong and convincing enough to sell the lie. Libby is offended by his doubts but Robert, remembering her prejudiced behaviour with Coral, simply thanks her for her willingness to help and sends her on her way.

Barbara begins meeting with Bill and Virginia to learn more about her vaginismus and hopefully begin treating it. She has her first physical exam and despite Bill's best effort to proceed with caution and sensitivity, Barbara breaks down crying. Bill and Virginia step out and when Virginia tells Bill that they're only treating half the problem, Bill says they are treating the part they can actually help with. Virginia later advises Barbara to use the practice from the psychologist, and try saying "no" and all that she wishes she had said to her brother when they were children.

Lester meets with Kitty to try to help with his sexual dysfunction. She plays up the "sexy doctor" fantasy but he is still unable to perform. Bill takes down his account of the experience and Lester tells him he will benefit from partnering with someone he sees as his equal, instead of an "expert."

Frank brings Bill with him to an AA meeting, on the night he is meant to receive his sobriety chip and share his backstory. He tells a tale about disappearing down the street to a neighbour's home when he sensed there would be trouble with their father, like when he would become critical. He then said he needed help to make his father disappear, in the form of alcohol. He says that the greatest teacher he had in vanishing was his father. Bill eventually steps out, right when Frank attempts to put the spotlight on him.

Virginia meets with the psychologist again, wanting to receive the next step in her treatment. He is skeptical of her being so methodical about her progress. She asks if he can blame her for wanting piece of mind and he is curious about this. Virginia eventually begins to share more personal information about herself instead of Barbara's story. She talks about being with a married man (Bill) and her friend Lillian found out, becoming disappointed by the behaviour. Virginia says she didn't feel all that guilty by it because she didn't see herself as threat to the man's wife. The psychologist asks her why she ended the relationship if she wasn't concerned about the man's wife. Virginia then realises it was because of guilt; she indeed feels guilty about her actions.

Libby meets with her sister-in-law Pauline. They swap stories about how they met their husbands. Pauline nearly left Frank over his alcoholism. It had become increasingly difficult to hide, as he began to lose his ability to justify his strange behaviour, being impulsive, coming home late, not being able to sexually perform, etc. Libby becomes alarmed realising the similarities to her situation with Bill. Pauline had given Frank an ultimatum: either alcohol or her. No one expected Pauline to stand up for herself but she felt empowered by doing something no one thought she was capable of.

Virginia meets with Barbara, who reveals that she spoke the words to Paul directly instead of just saying it to herself. Her brother remember the situation differently, believing that Barbara was the one who initiated it. It wasn't accusatory, but actually made her remember other things and she was the one who invented this game to keep him from leaving her. It would be easier to try to blame her brother but now it would seem that her already slow progress has taken more steps back.

Frank visits Bill, wanting an apology for walking out of the AA meeting. Bill has no guilt over his actions. Bill says that the tale of the sadistic father teaching humiliation till he left home to become a doctor is his own story, not Frank's. Bill doesn't believe his brother had it anywhere near as bad as he did and that Frank was merely a witness to the abuse Bill faced. Frank simply says that he was the next victim after Bill left. Frank says that he has healed and that Bill only needs to face the truth to do the same and forgives Bill for leaving him, understanding now where he was coming from.

Virginia goes out to grab a cup of coffee and Libby ends up being at the same place. Virginia is uncomfortable having to face the object of her guilt. Libby tells her she wants to be as brave as her but Virginia implores her not to hold herself in such high regard. But Libby is still able to draw some inspiration from their conversation and returns to CORE to volunteer her services for their cause. Robert tests her by asking her, a white woman, to make a sandwich run for their office full of black workers. She grabs a notepad, a pencil, and asks what she can get for them.

Bill and Virginia meet in their hotel room. Virginia asks if drinking helps them to reconcile their guilt over the affair and the fact that they're hurting Libby. Bill doesn't understand where this is all coming from. Virginia wants to uncover what lies they've told themselves to justify their affair. Virginia likes Libby, and says she has been a great friend. But Virginia has been horrible by sleeping with her husband. Now Virginia wants to talk about this and Bill snaps, saying this will only make things worse. Bill says it's about the study but Virginia calls him out, saying it's been years since they have taken any notes or reading and that clearly they are only thinking of their own pleasure. Bill says they can't find the cure for dysfunction by pairing couples together who are strangers, but can do so with subjects who know each other's bodies. Virginia demands to know what dysfunction they are treating, and he responds, "Mine."

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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Bill has been meeting with a plastic surgeon named Frank. They're old college mates that lost touch but now Frank has sought him out because he and his wife are struggling to conceive. As it turns out, he has a low sperm count. Bill is ready to dismiss him but then we learn that Frank is Bill's brother.

Virginia is highly determined to thoroughly research sexual dysfunction, as more of these cases have been turned away during their new screening process for the study. Roughly a third of the applicants have been shown to suffer from various forms of sexual dysfunction. She also has Barbara on her mind, who admitted to having a "closed vagina," a condition today known as vaginismus.

Lester asks for time off to attend his father's funeral and tries out his first draft of his eulogy on Virginia while a couple in the study is engaged in coitus.

Bill needs to find more funding for the practice and is being audited by the IRS for filing as tax exempt when he needed a board of trustees in order to be able to qualify. Bill and Betty devise a scheme to enlist the chief of police as one of their board members and set up a dinner with the chief and his wife, along with Bill and Libby. Betty also makes Virginia attend to ensure the best possible outcome. They sell the study as a preventative measure of divorce, saying that sexual dissatisfaction is the number one cause of it, which in turn leads to bad-behaving people who engage in criminal activity. Libby then suggests they attend the Veiled Prophet Ball, an event which promotes philanthropy among the city's elite. She also volunteers to raise funds. Libby has quite the knack for sales, as she convinces the Cal-O-Metric lady Flo to purchase an ad in the VP Ball program.

On her way out of the building, Libby is nearly run over by a pickup truck filled with white men who throw the body of a black activist and history teacher out onto the sidewalk. Libby is shocked, frightened, and drives off, but not before being spotted by Coral's brother Robert. The police and newspaper later report the incident as stemming from the man having marijuana on him. It's a cover-up stemming from the white supremacy of law enforcement. Robert later stops by to ask Libby about what she witnessed. The police won't do anything if the only witnesses that come forward are black. In their conversation, Robert also compares the VP Ball to the KKK, as it's a room full of white people listening to a person in a white hood.

Bill pronounced the Cal-O-Metric spokesman dead. He was an old obese radio star that ate himself to death at the hotel where Bill serves as an on-call doctor. He tells Elliot, the night manager, that he'll need a coroner, not an obstetrician. Later, we see Flo hire Langham as the new spokesman for Cal-O-Metric.

Virginia goes to meet Barbara and asks to speak with her to get a better understanding of her type of sexual dysfunction, vaginismus. Unfortunately, things grow dark when the the questioning about Barb's first sexual experience triggers her memory that it was her brother. They had an ongoing incestuous relationship until their mother caught them. The abruptness of the memory coming back has Barbara terrified to the point that she comes calling on Virginia late at night. Virginia thinks that God closed her up because of what they did and that it sickened them.

At the VP Ball, Libby sees the Veiled Prophet wearing a white hood and begins to notice how all of the waiters are black. She tells Bill about Robert stopping by and tells the truth about what she saw. She says how Robert wants her to go the police and Bill is exasperated by the thought, saying it's not their issue. She then points out to Bill that everything in his life has been about the study and now she doesn't know where she fits in. He tells her she fits with him. But Libby later goes to visit Robert to talk about what she saw.

Virginia makes an appointment for Barbara with a psychologist but Barbara is horrified about the idea of sitting down with a stranger, particularly a male one, and share such dark secrets. Virginia then rashly goes to the appointment, impersonating Betty, to relay the story she shared in the hopes of receiving some useful advice that she may pass on to Betty.

Bill meets with Frank, who talks about how he first became interested in plastic surgery after seeing a woman who got into a horrific accident be patched up with a new face. Unfortunately, the accident was a failed suicide attempt, which she later fixed with a bottle of pills. Fixing a person's outside is the easy part. Frank admits he spent his life pretending Bill didn't exist but now he wants his brother back.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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It's Oct. 15, 1958, five months after Bill was fired from Buell Green. He's opened up his own fertility clinic with Virginia, the Masters and Johnson Clinic. It's in a building in a "transitional neighbourhood," which is also where the Communist Headquarters is located. Lester has been hired to help document study patients again. He had unsuccessfully tried to make a career for himself in Hollywood since he was last seen. In the study, he is measuring ejaculate distance, one of 100 different phenomena Bill wants to compile data on before publishing. Each phenomena must be observed at least 100 times so the data may be ironclad. Virginia is concerned about how expensive this approach is. Currently, he only has 23 fertility cases.

Bill and Virginia's relationship is tense and this is amplified when Betty arrives, having been hired by Bill to answer phones, do paperwork, and look after their financial books. She's gotten a divorce from Gene, the Pretzel King, and it doesn't appear that she has any current lover or relationship. In addition the financial stress, Virginia's beau Shelly is also part of the cause of their tenser relationship. Bill visits the hotel bar to badmouth "Mrs. Holden" (Virginia's alias) to the bellhop. Bill talks about betrayal and vows and it's all very hypocritical, as he is the one stepping out on his marriage. On top of this, Libby tells Bill she wants another child, saying it is what she needs.

Virginia and Shelly go on a double date with Dr. Langham, who is seeing a hand model that he sees as his second chance. This model is considering getting into lingerie modelling and perhaps conveniently, there is a modelling agency downstairs from the Master-Johnson clinic.

At the clinic, Betty tells Bill he won't regret hiring her. She's thankful for the opportunity and all the times he has helped her. He meats with a man about a loan in order to help keep the practice running. Unfortunately, he will have to put all of his assets up as collateral, including his house. The study isn't going that well. A participant orgasms in under five seconds, which doesn't give them any useful information but they'll still have to pay him the $10 fee. Virginia says they should broaden the questionnaire in order to screen for sexual dysfunction and Bill agrees.

Virginia tries to clear the air by apologising for the awkwardness he felt in meeting Shelly but Bill coldly replies that Virginia has brought many men into her home. He doesn't want to be another stranger walking in and out of her kids' lives. He firmly states that they are just work colleagues. Virginia also has Bill going to get back alley blow jobs from prostitutes but he's unable to rise to the occasion.

Fast-forward to Sept. 2, 1959, and Libby comes to visit the office. Betty greets her and the new baby girl Libby has brought along. Libby confronts Bill in his office about not telling her about putting the house up for collateral. She learned of it after finding a man from the bank snooping around in the bushes to reassess the property. Bill insists that everything is fine, she has nothing to worry about, and that sacrifices must be made.

Libby goes ahead and calls Bill's mother, who has been visiting Libby and the children on a regular basis. She comes to visit Bill, who is furious to learn of the contact she has had. She asks for Bill's forgiveness and promises that his secrets are safe; she has not told Libby about his affair with Virginia. She asks for another chance, saying she will not judge him, and offers him a large sum of money to help him with his practice.

Bill returns home and gets into a large argument with Libby. Bill doesn't want the money and is furious about Libby's deception. Bill says he has always provided for them and Libby berates him for acting as if he's the only one wounded from his past.

Bill and Virginia go to Langham's birthday party. Langham's girlfriend is now working in burlesque, popping out his birthday case. Bill is trying to sabotage Virginia and he new boyfriend Kevin's relationship by getting explicit in his description of the study. Virginia heads to the bathroom to have a cigarette and Libby comes in to touch up her lipstick. They bond over the pain they have suffered from those they love and Libby admits she and Bill haven't had sex in over a year.

Virginia meets Bill on a balcony. He's drunk, apologetic, but also tries to make a move on her. She pushes him away when he callously brings up "all the men" in her life and his "faithless, fickle heart," and leaves him.

Fast-forward to Oct. 11, 1960, where Betty is showing Flo, the Cal-O-Metric saleswoman around as potential new tenant to lease the extra space. Betty later tells Bill that the fertility patient numbers are up, due to her raising their rates, and they have experienced a 20% increase in profit over the last month.

Virginia briefly runs into her old boyfriend Shelly. Lester pulls out some older footage from their time at Maternity and she observes some of her fixing Bill's bow tie. It brings her back to a time when things were good between the two of them and they were not weighed down by all of the baggage accumulated over the last few years. She later brings a hotel key to Bill's office, telling him that aside from her children, everything she has is tied to her work and him. Their relationship cannot be undone and she asks that he allow her to have someone to hold onto just as he holds onto Libby. They later meet at the hotel and Bill lists all the things he will do to her after she asks if they should take off their clothes. They're later seen post-sexual interact with Virginia completely naked and Bill still fully clothed, having reacquainted himself with her body.

Langham is having a bachelor party and Lester is there to film everything. Langham then turns on a stag film and it's shown to have his fiancee as the star. This sends him back to his estranged wife, asking her to take him back. He promises to be faithful but she tells him she's moved on.

Bill tries to offer his services as an on-call doctor to the hotel in exchange for free boarding for himself and "Mrs. Holden." However, the bell hop who is now the night manager, tells him the guests may not feel comfortable being seen by a radiologist. Bill's lie has now turned against him. The bell hop even says that his sister had her first baby delivered by "a Dr. Masters" and that someone with those credentials would easily get the job. He and Virginia will have to find another way to afford their infidelity.

Bill's old Memorial secretary, Barbara, visits Virginia to ask about participating in the study. However, she has a "closed" vagina and she is therefore not qualified to participate in the study. She has still had an active sex life, just not in the normal way. Virginia later discusses this case with Bill at one of his children's birthday party. Virginia sees this as a missed opportunity to learn about another type of sexual history. Libby and Virginia have another chat in which Libby invites Virginia to their lake house, saying Bill is more pleasant when she's around.

Bill is making quite the effort with his family, even inviting his mother to the birthday party. Privately, he tells her he knows that she has gone behind his back and funded the clinic. That 20% increase in income mentioned earlier by Betty was actually from her. Mrs. Masters tells him that she wasn't about to not help him again and tells him she is proud of him.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (August 20, 2014) – Hot off the continued critical and audience acclaim for the second seasons of RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX, SHOWTIME is green lighting third seasons for both of its hit drama series.  The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President, Showtime Networks Inc.  Both series will receive 12 one-hour episode orders, and will begin production 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,” says Nevins. “These acclaimed shows are filled with complex and interesting characters and settings that will no doubt give audiences compelling television to invest in for seasons to come.”

MASTERS OF SEX scored five Emmy® Award nominations this year, including nods for actors Lizzy Caplan, Beau Bridges and Allison Janney, who was honored this past weekend with an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Margaret Scully. RAY DONOVAN’s Jon Voight is also an Emmy contender, receiving his first ever series nomination for his role as Mickey Donovan. Both series continue to resonate with the network’s subscribers, delivering season high numbers for their past few episodes. MASTERS OF SEX’s fifth episode delivered the series’ highest ratings of the season, up 18 percent versus the season two premiere. The series currently averages nearly four million viewers across platforms per week. Similarly, RAY DONOVAN’s fifth episode was up 16 percent versus its season two premiere, and season-to-date is averaging five million weekly viewers across platforms.

Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, RAY DONOVAN stars Golden Globe® and Emmy nominee Liev Schreiber as L.A.’s best professional fixer, the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. As the season unfolds, Ray continues to seek balance between the demands of his family, including his volatile relationship with Mickey (Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Jon Voight), and the demands of his Hollywood clients.  The cast also includes Paula Malcomson, Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok, Steven Bauer, Katherine Moennig, Pooch Hall, Kerris Dorsey and Devon Bagby. Oscar®-nominated actor Elliott Gould guest stars. The impressive line-up of guest stars for season two also includes Hank Azaria, Ann-Margret, Wendell Pierce, Sherilyn Fenn, Vinessa Shaw, Brian Geraghty, Heather McComb and Kip Pardue. RAY DONOVAN is created and executive produced by Ann Biderman.  A SHOWTIME production, the series is also executive produced by Mark Gordon, Bryan Zuriff and David Hollander.  For a sneak peek at Sunday’s episode, go to: http://s.sho.com/1pFvuJm.

Starring Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Michael Sheen and Emmy nominee Lizzy Caplan as real-life pioneers of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, MASTERS OF SEX chronicles their unusual lives, romance and pop-culture trajectory. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a mid-western teaching hospital in St. Louis to the cover of Time magazine. The series 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.  Season two also stars Caitlin FitzGerald, Teddy Sears and Annaleigh Ashford. Beau Bridges, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Betsy Brandt, Sarah Silverman, Keke Palmer, Courtney B. Vance, Rene Auberjonois, Jocko Sims, Greg Grunberg, Barry Watson and Christian Borle guest star. MASTERS OF SEX was developed for television by Michelle Ashford (The Pacific) who also serves as an executive producer. In addition, the series is executive produced by Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, Judith Verno and Amy Lippman.  Michael Apted, Michael Sheen, Tammy Rosen and Thomas Maier serve as producers.  MASTERS OF SEX is produced by Sony Pictures Television. For an early look at Sunday night’s new episode, go to:http://s.sho.com/MOSS2E7.

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Virginia and Bill are in bed again. She tells him there is no kissing in their research. They later confront Hendricks over his not allowing black staff members to participate in the sex study. He explains in detail how this stems from all the historical abuse black people have faced at the hands of whites. Bill says that the study is ethical, that there are already people who want to volunteer, and that it would help to move history forward.

Lillian is still being treated for her cancer. She notes that she is losing cognitive function, weight, and hair. She has also gotten sunburned due to her increased sensitivity to her skin.

Betty is planning a large celebration for her husband and his business going into syndication but he gets her to slow down long enough for him to say that part of the appeal in having children was seeing a part of her in them. He then tells her that she is enough for him and that he doesn't want to adopt. As long as they have each other, that is enough for him.

Libby has been watching the way Coral and Robert interact every day when he picks her up. Bill tells her she is acting like a "peeping Tom," which offends her. Libby tries to play it off as her feeling unsafe after Robert "threatened" her but with the way she fiddles with her hair and after that conversation she had with Coral about sexual pleasure, it would seem there is something else going on deep down.

Betty has been shacking up with her ex, Helen. Betty suggests getting Helen an apartment but Helen feels this is simply her being treated as a mistress. Betty doesn't see it that way, saying that this is a good opportunity for them, since they never would have been able to live the white picket fence life as a lesbian couple. Betty has a wealthy husband that can provide enough security that should now be able to help them be together too.

Bill and Virginia have gotten a reporter from the St. Louis Chronicle to do a piece on the study. Their motive for contacting her is to try to put pressure on Hendricks to let black hospital staff participate in the study without the threat of losing their job. The reporter, a black woman, asks them if they will be doing any work to prove the falsehood of the man-dingo and jezebel stereotypes, both of which are harmful to black people. They tell her that they plan to go where the research takes them and if those myths are dispelled, it will be a positive side-effect.

Lillian asks her doctor to be honest about the condition of her cancer and he tells her that the treatment will slow the progression for now but it will be a gruesome deterioration of her health till death. This leads her to tell Virginia that she will no longer continue with the treatment. Virginia wants her to keep fighting but Lillian tells her that she can't do this for her; she has tried but she is done. Virginia later gets emotional in her hotel room with Bill, saying that Lillian got through her walls and became her friend. Virginia doesn't have many friends but Lillian knows her and now she's about to die. Bill tells Virginia he knows her and kisses her on the lips.

Helen and Al visit Betty and Gene to tell them that Helen has proposed and the couple now plan to elope. Betty is furious and snaps at the couple when they begin to make out. She apologises, blaming it on a headache, and excuses herself to bed. Later, Gene thinks her behaviours stems from her being attracted to Al. Betty laughs this off, saying she is sickened by the freakshow that is Al and Helen's relationship. She never wants to see them again.

Libby has someone in the police department run a background check on Robert and learns he has been arrested three times. She tells Coral she doesn't want Robert anywhere near the baby so someone else will need to drive her. Coral says she'll call her aunt and have her pick her up. However, when she later leaves to get picked up, a paranoid Libby follows and sees Coral walk further down the street and get picked up by Robert.

Bill is interviewed by the reporter and is uncomfortable by how thorough her research is. She knows about him being sick as a child, his assault at Greathouse, and the fire extinguisher he threw through a window at Maternity. She also thinks he has a bit of a God complex but says his story is one of overcoming adversity. He's a revolutionary estranged from the white community. He tries to tell her not to put certain things in the story but she says he has no say in that. This further upsets Bill, who is worried about those personal details from his life being damaging to his career and reputation.

Virginia visits Lillian to patch things up after their argument. Lillian asks for her help in making arrangements to have her body donated to science. She says that it would be nice if a medical student is able to use her body to find a cure for ovarian cancer.

Bill meets with the reporter's editor to try to smooth things into what he wants. Bill goes so far as to say that the study has proven that black men have a larger penis size, increased sexual desire, and higher testosterone levels, which would prove those negative stereotypes true. The editor doesn't believe Bill, and rightly so, as Bill had earlier told Virginia that the sexual stereotypes against black people were wrong. Bill is more concerned about his reputation than anything. So now he is willing to falsify his research. The editor knows he is lying and refuses to back down from Bill's threats.

Gene tries to tell Al about Betty's wishes to not see him or Helen. Al says it doesn't make any sense, saying that he saw Betty and Helen kissing and how they are clearly close. While Al simply chalks it up to them being tremendously affectionate, Gene is wise enough to figure things out. Gene then confronts Betty right before their big celebration dinner. Though he knows she didn't love any of the other men she's been with, this was because she was in love with Helen. He has forgiven so much from her but this is one lie he cannot move past. She tells him she cares for him but he won't have it, telling her that caring is not the same as loving.

Lillian and Virginia have some wine and chat. Lillian say her one regret is that she never had a lover who stayed with her, lingered. She notes how Virginia has that sort of closeness with Bill. Virginia isn't impressed by that, though Virginia points out that Bill loves her. Virginia says that Bill never says it but Lillian says that Virginia knows he does and that's everything. Virginia tucks Lillian into bed and traces constellations on her face, a technique she uses to get her kids to sleep. She then kisses Lillian on the lips and tells her she'll see her in the morning.

Libby grabs the baby and follows Coral and Robert home. She scrapes her leg on her way in. Robert catches her going through the apartment's mail, trying to find which one Coral lives in. When Libby calls him Coral's boyfriend, he corrects her, saying that he is her brother. They have different last names because they have different fathers. It's then that Robert notices Libby's leg bleeding and with her permission, bends down to put a handkerchief against it. Libby, most likely remembering Coral's words about a soft touch and gentle nature, becomes flustered and hurls some cash at Robert, telling him that it is Coral's severance package and to let her know that she is fired. She bursts into tears upon getting back into her car and when at home, she touches the cut on her leg lightly.

Virginia returns to Lillian's house, having forgotten to take the letter about donating her body to science. She hears Lillian's laboured breathing and finds that Lillian has taken a bottle of sleeping pills. Virginia begins to call for an ambulance but upon realising that Lillian just wants to die in peace, she hangs up the phone and crawls into bed as her friend passes away.

Hendricks visits Bill, having heard what happened at the newspaper. Bill is not proud of his actions and says he has never misrepresented his work. Bill can't continue his work like this, being beholden to other people's rules. Hendricks isn't angry, and actually understands where he's coming from. He tells him to "cut the cord" and find the guts to find his way and be reborn, before telling to clear his office out by morning.

Bill has lost yet another job so she goes to visit Virginia. Upon arriving, he finds a man in Virginia's home. He's Virginia's "beau," and even has a key to her home. They met in the hotel lobby when Virginia stopped to watch the end of the big fight. They've been dating ever since. Bill plays it off, claiming to just be a colleague stopping by. Bill's on the verge of a breakdown as he walks away. His life is falling to pieces and now he doesn't even have Virginia as much as he thought he did. He returns home to Libby and claims to not be feeling well, before sitting on her bed, taking her hand, and watching as their baby rocks to sleep.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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Libby visits Virginia and brings the baby along. Libby is struggling with Bill's decision to take a job at a "negro hospital" and asks Virginia if they know what the two of them are doing. Virginia appears shocked at first, thinking she's asking about the affair. In actuality, it's whether or not the doctors at Maternity Hospital know that Bill and Virginia will be taking their study to Buell Green. Libby thinks that this job will look bad and she cares a great deal about the opinions of others.

Virginia meets Bill at the hotel and he gives her a key to her new office at Buell Green. She is offended by the fact that he made this decision without speaking with her first. She won't jump in blindly without him laying out the specifics in a contract. She has her children to think about and given how quickly he's been hopping hospitals, she is not about to risk her financial stability. Virginia tries to say that she could easily keep up her work with Lillian but Bill then drops the bomb on her: Lillian knows about their affair.

Betty and her husband, the Pretzel King, take their first steps towards mending their relationship. They make plans to adopt children and love them as if they were their own.

When Virginia next meets Lillian, she initially passive-aggressively refuses to answer the phone. She then asks Lillian what it matters what she does outside the office since it doesn't affect the quality of her work. Lillian says it would matter to Libby and Virginia insists that they're simply participating in the study. The argument culminates in Lilian saying that Virginia would have always walked out on her research in favour of Bill's.

Virginia goes to meet Bill at his new office. It's much smaller then he would like but he was also given the adjacent room to use as an exam room, which angers his new colleague Dr. Franklin. The room had been his office before Bill came along. Bill tells her he has gotten the employment contract for her. She asks if their personal participation in the study is an unwritten condition of her employment there. He tells her yes, it's part of the job. Virginia keeps her cool but she seems shaken by how right Lillian was. She then says that their research should continue at the hotel instead of the exam room.

Bill and Virginia's next meeting at the hotel is all business, as Virginia is determined to prove a point. She sits in a chair with a clipboard in hand, telling Bill to strip off his clothing, stay standing, and touch himself. She tells him to begin as she clicks on a stopwatch and times him, taking notes all the while, asking if his closing his eyes is standard behaviour. She's talking to him like a proper participant in the study. She asks what he's thinking about and he replies, "You." She then tells him to stop and calls him forward. She stands and puts him on his knees, telling him to remove her garters and stockings, and has him go down on her. The next day at the office, things are awkward.

Libby is visited by Coral's boyfriend Robert. He brings up the lice incident in which Libby had forcibly washed Coral's hair. He is calm, polite, but is able to communicate to her that she not mistreat Coral again, and will continue to ask Coral how her day is going, expecting to hear "fine" every time.

Bill is struggling with his patients. One woman is scared to park her car in "this neighbourhood." Bill and Virginia do their best to reassure her and keep her focused on the priority at hand, which is her fertility treatment.

Libby tells Coral about her boyfriend visiting and "threatening" her. Libby patronisingly tries to play the role of mother-figure. She suggests that Coral stop seeing this boy. Coral admits that Robert has a temper but then says that when it's late at night, all the bad stuff just "goes away." She makes it clear that Robert is a skilled lover and says that surely she can understand that that is hard to leave. She's not about to let Libby try to manipulate her. Coral is able to throw in a sly dig over the fact that Bill and Libby sleep in separate twin beds. Coral is living within a system that greatly lowers her but she knows how to play the game within the existing parameters. Coral has a man that can sexually please her and Libby does not.

Virginia finds that someone is stealing and throwing away the fliers advertising their study. She also asks Bill if they will be including black patients in their study. Bill says of course they will and that their physiology is the same, with the only different in those patient being melanin. Virginia then receives a call from one of their patients that has cancelled with no intention to reschedule.

Libby tries to create an excuse for her and Bill to have make-up sex, clearly still shaken after her conversation with Coral. He performs a painfully awkward sexual session with her. It's slow, mechanical, and all-around cringeworthy. Libby later tells Coral that she no longer has to worry about making hers and Dr. Master's beds and that she will take care of it herself from now on.

Bill later has to break up a fight between a white husband a black husband sitting in the waiting room and he ends up accidentally getting punched in the crossfire. He is horrified by the white man's behaviour and recounts the details of the incident to Libby at home as she tends to the wound on his face. She takes the opportunity to tell Bill about the "large, coloured man" that came to the house and threatened her regarding her treatment of Coral. Bill is sympathetic at first, saying if he'd been home he would have defended her. But when she lets it slip that she forcibly washed Coral's hair, he is no longer sympathetic. He is appalled at her actions and says that she got off lightly, saying that if someone had done that to her, that person's face would look how his currently did. He tells her she should apologise.

A new character is introduced tonight, Helen (played by Sarah Silverman). She is Betty's ex-lover, deserted when Betty decided to chase the Pretzel King in order to have a stable heterosexual life. Things didn't end well between the two and now Helen wants to try to get back into Betty's life. She visit the Pretzel King, and charms him to the point that he decides to set her up with a friend of his. At the double date, they're having a cryptic conversation entirely different from what the men think is actually being said. They later share a kiss in the ladies' room. It's unclear as to whether this means there will be yet another extra-merrital affair happening on the show, but it certainly appears to be heading in that direction.

When Bill returns to the hospital, he finds that the waiting room has been segregated. Though the labels are simply by doctor, this of course is a way to separate the whites from the blacks. Bill is not in favour of this system.

Lillian and Virginia begin to mend their relationship after Lillian suffers from a fall due to her worsening health. Virginia picks her up and brings her home. Lillian decides that she's no longer capable of being an effective doctor and will resign from her position at Maternity. Lillian admits that she's scared about what lies ahead and therefore can't afford to be upset at Virginia any longer.

Robert arrives to pick up Coral and bring her home and Libby comes out to speak with him. She apologises to him and admits she overreacted regarding Coral, blaming it on the post-baby hormones. Robert says that she should be apologising to Coral, who walks over right then. Robert tells Coral that this is a lesson in white people's inability to take responsibility for their actions. Libby is offended that he has brought her race into the conversation. Not so fun, is it, Libby? She shouts after them that her husband works at the negro hospital. It's the same nonsensical argument as the modern-day one: "I'm not racist; I have a black friend."

Bill meets with the hospital executive, Charles, regarding the conflicts in their time at the hospital. Charles says he has too much he wants to accomplish to ease people into doing what they should. He says that just as Bill forced people to see the importance of his work regarding the study of sex, they need to move the hospital and history forward by integrating the hospital. He cites a speech Martin Luther King, Jr. made about the potential St. Louis had and asks Bill if he will help make integration a priority at Buell Green. Bill puts the responsibility on Virginia, as she is the one he deems the expert on relating to patients. After Charles leaves, Bill tells Virginia that civil rights are not his fight but he sees nothing wrong with their work being helpful towards that cause.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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Virginia's guilt over her affair with Bill manifests in a nightmare in which Bill chides her for not following through with her education. She thinks herself a mistress. Virginia wakes in the hotel room and ignored Bill's cutesy description of her sleeping. As they leave their hotel room and go into the elevator, they are spotted by Dr. Langham, who has been staying there following the dissolution of his marriage. Outside, Bill learns about Virginia's selling diet pills just to try to get by. Bill tries again to get Greathouse to let Virginia come over to work at the hospital and be part of the study.

Langham meets Virginia in the hospital lunchroom and tells her that he saw them at the hotel and assume they're having an affair. Without batting an eyelash, she covers by saying that they have resumed the study and work out of the hotel. She goes on to say that they had a fight over his presenting the study prematurely but he apologised and they've made up for it.

Libby is still being an insufferable, condescending racist against Coral, who continues to outshine her with her baby know-how. Libby has some ladies over for a luncheon and they want to know all the dirty details over the study. She avoids it by saying it's little more than boring paperwork. Coral comes in with the baby and one woman asks her how she learned to be so good with children. Libby cuts her off for talking too long and then one of the ladies notices that the baby has something crawling in its hair.

Bill warns Virginia that their affair cannot get out, as he is a married man. He returns home to find a frazzled Libby washing everything in the house since baby Johnny has lice. She's blaming Coral for the lice, assuming she was the one to bring it in. He calms her by saying the insects are harmless and that all she needs to do is wash the baby's belongings and scrub his hair with a medicated shampoo.

Betty's husband come along for one of her fertility treatments, as she has told him he needs to give a sperm donation. Bill refuses to lie to him by saying he's sterile, so Betty tells Bill to tell him that she is infertile. He's greatly saddened, asking if there's anything that can be done, but Bill says there is nothing.

Libby gives Coral some lice shampoo and says she needs to use it. Coral says she doesn't have lice and Libby snidely replies that she never said that she did. Libby is angry when Coral admits the next day that she didn't use the shampoo, despite saying that she had her brother check her hair (and found nothing) and that she can't afford the four dollars it would cost to have her hair done again. Coral then turns to Bill and promises she doesn't have lice and that her brother said that "negroes" couldn't even get lice. He agrees with her, citing a medical journal he had read about it in, saying that is indeed unlikely. Libby is even more irritated to have Bill not siding with her. She later calls Coral in, demanding to wash her hair or she will be fired. She washes Coral's hair and spouts more nonsense about how they need to stick together and that Coral should not get Bill involved. She also gives Coral money to get her hair re-done. "My treat," she chirps in a saccharine tone.

Greathouse insists on sitting in on Bill's research. Bill tries to scare him off by having his secretary lie by claiming that he'll be observing men with enlarged prostates masturbate. He shows up anyway, and makes a rude comment about the slightly larger-sized woman masturbating. Bill is put off by his clearly dishonourable reasons for wanting to sit in on a session. Greathouse claims to have just talked to the board about hiring Virginia but that it's a process.

Langham tells Lillian about Virginia and Bill's affair, thinking that she already knew. She then tells Virginia about a time she cheated in calculus, to give her an opportunity to come clean and confide in her. Virginia does no such thing and Lillian is clearly hurt by what she now sees to be a one-sided friendship. She's not one to trust easily and anyone can see that she had started to trust Virginia.

Lillian and Virginia are presenting their pap smear campaign to Dr. Papanikolaou, the former professor of Dr. DePaul. Following Virginia's betrayal, Lillian is also prepared to hand over the research entirely to Papanikolaou and not receive credit for it if and when it gets published. Lillian later coldly tells Virginia to forward all of the research to Dr. Papanikolaou. Virginia is offended that she wasn't informed sooner and Lillian replies that she doesn't need to consult her secretary on matters regarding her research. Virginia insists that it's "their" research but Lillian stays her course.

Bill tries to ward off Greathouse from observing again but is unable to do so. That night, as another woman is preparing to masturbate, Bill comes into the observation room and finds Greathouse there with many other creepy doctors, eating Chinese food, ready to watch this woman get off. Bill is furious and pulls Greathouse into the hall and insists that he and the others clear out and never come back. Greathouse is unmoved and reveals that he never talked to the board about Virginia. Bill goes back into the exam room after Greathouse, shoves an egg roll into one doctor's face, before landing two phenomenal punches in Greathouse's face. He will be terminated effective immediately. It's then that the woman orgasms and the men all turn to watch, as Bill storms in, covers her with a gown, and pulls the shade down to obstruct their view.

Betty is home, having dinner with her husband. He is angry to have learned that she lied about the fertility treatments. She says he never would have married her if she had told him and that she was just a good Christian girl to him at church when they met. He then says that that wasn't when they first met. He says that he had always been shy with girls and that he went to a brothel to try to learn. He says that she was so nice to him and he was afraid he'd never see her again and was thrilled to see her again at church. He never thought she was a "good Christian girl," just the love of his life. She is incredibly moved but it's unclear where their relationship now stands.

Bill returns home and before he can share the bad news with Lillian, he finds that Langham is in their home. They head out back to smoke, where Langham gives him advice. He thought marriage would cure him of his overactive sexual appetite but it didn't work, hence his many extramarital affairs. He knows that Bill is having an affair, though Bill refuses to admit it. Langham enjoys being able to have sex freely as a bachelor, but he misses his children. He advises Bill to weigh what he has with Virginia "against all of this" and decide if it's worth it, which he means rhetorically.

The following morning, Libby is angry at Bill since Mrs. Greathouse called to inform her of Bill's assaulting Greathouse and being fired. She yells at him for never being satisfied and squandering opportunities, asking if his wife and child mean anything to him. He says that doing right by her and the baby is all he ever thinks about. He promises that he'll always take care of her and that he needs her to believe that. He looks as if he'll have a panic attack until she tells him he'll find the right job and that everything will be okay.

Virginia advises her children to not depend on others and to do things on their own. Bill accepts a position at Buell Green Hospital, which is a black hospital. He also says that he feels comfortable speaking for his partner that they are excited to bring their study to the facility. We can all but assume he is referring to Virginia.

Masters of Sex airs on Sundays on Showtime at 10PM.

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