The combination of David Simon and HBO is a hard one to ignore, and thankfully this brief teaser for Simon's latest series is just brimming with style and great potential. The Deuce will follow the story of the "legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world at the pioneering moments of what would become the billion-dollar American sex industry." With The Wire, Generation Kill, and Treme behind him, David Simon has certainly left himself with a high bar to overcome. Will The Deuce emerge as HBO's next great series? I suppose time will tell.
Created by David Simon and George Pelecanos, The Deuce was inspired in part by the careers of twin brothers who become fronts for the mob as they attempted to control the lucrative porn industry. The twins, Vincent and Frankie Martino, will both by played by James Franco. The Deuce also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Eileen "Candy" Merrell, a Time Square hooker and veteran with "an entrepreneurial bent who is drawn into the fledgling porn industry." The series will also explore the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the resulting real estate booms and busts which coincided with the change.
The Deuce is set to debut on HBO on September 10, 2017.