Masters of sex
while masters of sex (2013-current) characters bill masters (michael sheen) and virginia johnson (lizzy caplan) are sneaking around researching sex, tvplus snuck around trying to find out how the show’s sets and wardrobe come together. while the show’s set in 1958, wardrobe designer ane crabtree based the costumes on runway looks from 1950 to 1953 because people in the midwest wouldn’t have been that fashion-forward. prop master jeffrey johnson had to buy vintage condoms because modern ones look distinctly different. the period-authentic ekg and eeg (electrocardiography and electroencephalography) machines were hired from a new york collector whose father was a cardiologist. aside from the two single beds in bill and libby’s (caitlin fitzgerald) bedroom, the bare glossy cream walls add to the impression of sterility – an indicator of their loveless marriage. unemotional bill deliberately has a minimalistic-looking house. “his house reflects the idea of control. we didn’t like it at first because it made it look like we couldn’t afford set dressing,” says production designer michael wylie. the masters’ furniture was sourced in la and restored to look new. ane had to have costumes specially made because most of the cast are so tall. while caitlin is 1.78m, teddy sears (august) is 1.85m and nicholas d’agosto (ethan) is 1.93m tall. “tall doesn’t translate to vintage clothing,” ane explains. the cast wore uncomfortable 1950s undies because “you walk differently in them. if you have a girdle on, your body does this beautiful tiny wiggle, which you can see with lizzy and caitlin,” says ane. the ekg/ecg wires during sex scenes didn’t just look awkward, they’d also slip off when the cast got sweaty and the cameras had to avoid showing that they weren’t connected to anything either.