Masters Of Sex

Showtime is launches its long-awaited story of pioneering sex researchers Masters and Johnson on September 29. Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, 30 Rock, all those different times he played Tony Blair) and Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls, Party Down, that fantasy where you two are married that you think we don't know you have, but come on, we can read you like a book) co-star as the medical researcher and his assistant, who became famous for exploring human sexuality at a time when doing so was considered "perversion".

From the glimpses we get here, it seems quite a few people—most notably Beau Bridges, who has a recurring role as Sheen's boss—will be telling the duo what perverts they are every week, while they respond with some variation on "Back off, man. I'm a scientist." We also get the requisite talk of dildos, fake orgasms, real orgasms, and other ins and outs of "coochie medicine." But the real tension on the show will be between Masters and Johnson themselves, who try their best to keep their minds on their spouses while constantly talking to each other about S-E-X and watching others engage in the act. But keep your minds out of the gutters, people; it's for science! Still, it's on Showtime, so expect a fair amount of nudity and dirty talk. For science.