After Martin Scorsese‘s very expensive “Vinyl” failed to connect with the critics and audiences, HBO swiftly — after flirting with a possibly retooled second season — canceled the series. Which made it all the more surprising when they went ahead and pursued “The Deuce,” another show set in the ’70s, but instead of tackling the music industry, the show takes on the seamy underbelly of the world of pornography. It doesn’t exactly sound like a no-brainer on paper, but the network is clearly please.
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“The Deuce” has been officially renewed for season two. Starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, the show chronicles the rise of the porn culture in New York from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world of the sex trade from the moment when both a liberalizing cultural revolution in American sexuality and new legal definitions of obscenity created a billion-dollar industry that is now an elemental component of the American cultural landscape. It follows a cast of barkeeps, prostitutes, pimps, police and nightlife denizens as they swirl through a world of sex, crime, high times and violence, and the porn business begins its climb from Mafia-backed massage parlors and film labs to legitimacy and cultural permanence.
“We are thrilled to continue our creative collaboration with master storytellers David Simon and George Pelecanos,” said Casey Bloys, president of HBO Programming. “Their unique gift for immersing the audience in their dark and edgy worlds brings a brilliant verisimilitude unlike any other. With the remarkably talented Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco leading an exceptional cast, we look forward to delving deeper as this captivating story evolves.”
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“Everyone involved with this project is genuinely grateful to HBO for the chance to take the narrative where it needs to go,” the show’s co-creator David Simon said. “We knew the theme and purpose of the story, but there are many people in the entertainment industry who might not have it told, or worse, would have told it for the wrong reasons. HBO is a serious outfit. And they don’t scare.”
“The Deuce” marks another successful collaboration between Simon and HBO, following “The Wire” and “Treme.”
“The Deuce” airs Sunday nights on HBO.