Previewing Masters of Sex: Season Three

Late last season on Masters of Sex, Virginia's ex-husband George showed up looking to alter their custody arrangement much to her chagrin. I actually thought he had a good case because at that point I had completely forgotten she had children, they were MIA for most of the season and the only time I even remember them being mentioned was when Libby wanted to piggyback Virginia's babysitter to spend more time with her nanny's brother. It seems like there will not be a lack of Johnson children this season because they have enough of a storyline this year to warrant a title card at the end of each episode (or the very least the first two) letting us know that though the sex study is based on their real research, the children on the show are completely fictitious.

When the Johnson children did pop up at the end of last season during the custody battles I was a bit surprised that with all the time jumping that happen last season (five years had passed since the series started) the kids were played by the same actors that played them in the first season despite the five years that had passed in the time. Since another four year has passed since the end of last they have finally recast the kids to more age appropriate actor. Henry is now seventeen and looking like Steve Rogers before he got his Captain America super powers. While fifteen year old Tessa is now being played by Isabelle Fuhrman (the creepy girl from Orphan who did such a great job in an otherwise mediocre film that I had to go straight to her Wikipedia page to see if she really was a forty year old like her character or an actual teenager like she looked). Focusing more on teenagers has always been a drag on otherwise great television shows, but the best part of the early season is when Ginny suggests Dr. Masters, who has spent his life studying the subject, give Tessa the birds and the bees speech.

This comes when the Johnsons and Masters (who have added a third child since the last episode) descend on a cabin for vacation on the even of their book finally being publish. When we last left Libby she was finally admit her husband was having an affair and it seems like everyone now know this but never speak of it which leads to a bunch of awkward conversations even before the subject of birds and bees is brought up. The end of the premiere bring a bombshell that will shake up the new season which will result in the addition of Maggie Grace as fellow doctor (yes, the token hot chick from Lost will be playing an MD) who assists Dr. Masters when a very important person is in need of Masters's expertise.

Over two season, Masters of Sex has established itself as one of television's best, combining drama and sexual education with a wry sense of humor (thankfully Betty and Lester still working at the clinic) and it only continues to get better in its third season. And it may end up being the first great television show that can make kids of the characters entertaining.

Masters of Sex airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime. You can download previous season of Masters of Sex on iTunes.