'Masters of Sex' canceled after four seasons

Masters of Sex is history on Showtime.

The pay-cable network Wednesday confirmed the end of the drama after four seasons, after airing its season — and now series — finale Nov. 13. The episode featured the marriage of famed sex researchers William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan), which will serve as the final punctuation on the series.

Masters, which traces (and fictionalizes) the relationship of the real-life Masters and Johnson starting in the 1950s, received critical praise early in its run: Allison Janney won a guest-acting Emmy and Caplan and Beau Bridges also received Emmy nominations. The series and Sheen each earned a Golden Globes nomination.

The show was never a hit, however, and the series finale claimed just 457,000 same-day viewers.