Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan to Star in Showtime's Masters of Sex

Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan will play the leads in Masters of Sex, Showtime announced Thursday.

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The pilot will follow the relationship of 1960s human sexuality pioneers William Masters (Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Caplan). Based on Thomas Maier's acclaimed 2009 book about the couple, the project is written by Michelle Ashford (The Pacific) and directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love).

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Sheen, who co-starred in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, is known for his performances in The Queen and Frost/Nixon. Caplan has appeared in Mean Girls, True Blood, and most recently, New Girl.Masters of Sex will begin production in New York later this year.