Showtime's 'Masters of Sex' Arouses More Viewers

The audience for the second installment of Showtime’s Masters of Sex rose from its premiere.

The premium network’s drama about the professional and personal lives of sex research pioneers Williams Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Kaplan) averaged 1.1 million viewers in its 10 p.m. debut on Oct. 6, up 9% from 1 million its opener the week before, according to Nielsen data. Coupling encores, Masters of Sex grabbed 1.5 million viewers for the night, up 7% from 1.4 million during its first Sunday.

Showtime officials said Masters of Sex notched 5.6 million viewers across re-airs and various platforms during its premiere week, 35% more than Homeland did during its initial week.

Speaking of the terrorist drama starring Emmy-winner Claire Danes, the show delivered 1.83 million viewers in its 9 p.m. window on Sunday night, down from 1.9 million for the season-three-starter the week before. According to Nielsen data, Homeland delivered 2.5 million viewers with encores on Sunday, versus 2.61 million the week before.

Across the first week of its season three, Homeland scored with 6.2 million watchers, 24% more than its 5.2 million average during its sophomore season.