There’s been a lot of questions surrounding the upcoming season of HBO’s “The Deuce.” Not just because the first season received critical acclaim and a Golden Globes nomination for star Maggie Gyllenhaal, either. No, the second season of “The Deuce” has had a little controversy as HBO has decided to move forward with the series’ star James Franco after the actor came under fire in recent months for alleged sexual misconduct.
Regardless of the behind-the-scenes drama, the second season of HBO’s hit series looks to be hitting the ground running based on the most recent trailer. “The Deuce” follows the stories of 1970s New York and the growing sex work/porn industry at the time. And with the second season, which is scheduled to have a bit of a time jump, we see that the growing industry has led to some negative consequences, with police and government involvement. Guess you can’t just turn portions of Manhattan into a “red light” district without some people in power taking notice.
“This is the moment when it genuinely seemed for the first time that hardcore pornography was going to become mainstreamed into American culture and psyche,” says David Simon. “And in a very real sense that would happen to a profound degree, though not in the ways that our protagonists once imagined.”
The drama series stars James Franco as both Vincent Martino, a successful manager of several mob-backed nightspots, and his twin brother, Frankie Martino, whose own business ventures are more fraught, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Candy, now a rising director of ambitious porn films.
“The Deuce” stars the aforementioned Gyllenhaal and Franco, as well as the returning cast of Gary Carr, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Margarita Levieva, Dominique Fishback, and Emily Meade. Season 2 finds Luke Kirby joining the cast as a series regular as Gene Goldman, an incoming Koch administration official bent on reform, and Jamie Neumann joining as Ashley, a former sex worker turned activist. Guests include Zoe Kazan (“The Big Sick”), Ralph Macchio (“The Karate Kid”), and Cliff “Method Man” Smith (“8 Mile”).
Directors for season two include Alex Hall (HBO’s “Treme”), Steph Green (“The Americans”), Uta Briesewitz (“Orange Is the New Black,” HBO’s “Westworld”), Zetna Fuentes (“Jane the Virgin”), Susanna White (HBO’s “Generation Kill”), Tricia Brock (“Mozart in the Jungle,” “Younger”), Tanya Hamilton (“The Chi”) and Minkie Spiro (“Call the Midwife,” “Downton Abbey”).
Created by George Pelecanos and David Simon, “The Deuce” returns for its nine-episode second season on September 9 on HBO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgWenVT-3w4&=&feature=em-uploademail
