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SHOWTIME® PICKS UP TWO NEW DRAMAS FOR SERIES Network Orders 12 One-Hour Episodes of Dramas RAY DONOVAN Starring Liev Schreiber And MASTERS OF SEX Starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan
SHOWTIME® PICKS UP TWO NEW DRAMAS FOR SERIES
Network Orders 12 One-Hour Episodes of Dramas RAY DONOVAN Starring Liev Schreiber
And MASTERS OF SEX Starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan
LOS ANGELES, CA (JUNE 11, 2012) – Continuing to build upon the network's existing line-up of acclaimed and award-winning drama series, including Homeland, DEXTER®, Shameless and The Borgias, SHOWTIME will be adding two more original series to the premium channel's line-up, it was announced today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. RAY DONOVAN, a one-hour drama starring Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Liev Schreiber, and MASTERS OF SEX, a one-hour drama starring Emmy and BAFTA Award nominee Michael Sheen and acclaimed actress Lizzy Caplan, have both received 12 episode orders and will both film in Los Angeles for air in 2013.
"RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX, each in their own distinctive ways, represent the caliber of programming we want to bring to our subscribers," said Nevins. "Both series are ambitious and expansive, and feature great writing and great acting. I'm so excited for viewers to experience these two new dramas, which I believe will prove to be fantastic complements to our current slate of programming."
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, RAY DONOVAN does the dirty work for L.A.’s top power players. The series stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award nominee Liev Schreiber in his first lead television role as the go-to guy who makes the problems of the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear. This powerful family drama unfolds when his father, played by Oscar® winner Jon Voight, is unexpectedly released from prison, setting off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core. The series' all-star cast also includes Oscar® winner and guest star Elliot Gould as Ray's long-time client and mentor; Paula Malcomson (The Hunger Games) in the role of Ray's wife, "Abby;" along with Eddie Marsan (War Horse, Sherlock Holmes) and Dash Mihok (I Am Legend), who will play Ray's brothers. Additional cast includes Katherine Moennig (The L Word), Steven Bauer (Breaking Bad), Pooch Hall (The Game), Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do!), Kerris Dorsey (Moneyball), Devon Bagby and Peter Jacobson (House). RAY DONOVAN is created and executive produced by Ann Biderman (Southland), who also wrote the pilot episode. The series will also be executive produced by The Mark Gordon Company's Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff. RAY DONOVAN is a SHOWTIME production and the pilot was directed by Allen Coulter (The Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy), who also serves as producer.
MASTERS OF SEX stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, who will portray the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The series chronicles the unusual lives, romance and pop culture trajectory of Masters and Johnson. 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 and nearly a dozen appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. MASTERS OF SEX marks Sheen's first regular series role for television. 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. The pilot episode was directed by Academy Award® nominee John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, and the current hit indie film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), who also serves as executive producer, and also stars Caitlin Fitzgerald (It's Complicated), in the role of Masters' wife, Nicholas D'Agosto (Heroes) and Teddy Sears (American Horror Story). Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Beau Bridges and Margo Martindale also appear in the pilot. MASTERS OF SEX was created and executive produced by Michelle Ashford (The Pacific). The series will also be executive produced by Timberman Beverly Productions' Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman, and Judith Verno. Michael Sheen and Tammy Rosen will serve as producers. MASTERS OF SEX is produced by Sony Pictures Television.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network's authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
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