'The Deuce' Air Date, Cast News: James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal Lead Porn Drama From HBO [VIDEO]
James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal lead the cast of a porn drama series on HBO. David Simon, the creator of the critics' favorite "The Wire," is back on the network for this new series.
Called "The Deuce," the show will explore the beginnings of the porn industry in the 1970s and how it became a billion-dollar enterprise. It's based on real-life events and inspired by real people whom Simon met and interviewed while developing the series.
Franco plays twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino in "The Deuce." One of them manages a bar in Times Square that caters to people from all walks of life, including cops and prostitutes.
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"That was very unusual because it was a melting pot of all areas of social levels," Franco said during a panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Gyllenhaal plays Candy, who works at the bar and sidelines as a prostitute. She becomes a porn actress and later, a director of porn movies.
Simon anticipates that "The Deuce" will likely receive criticisms for misogyny or sexual commodification of women. But the writer and producer said that this theme is the show's "reason for being."
Simon is not concerned about showing whether porn is good or bad. He wants to tell a story of the interesting characters and how porn influenced today's capitalism.
"For America, flesh as a legal commodity begins in New York City, but it travels everywhere into the national life," Simon said in the press release. "The fact is, we don't sell a luxury car, blue jeans or bottle of beer anymore without a certain amount of pornographic thought attached."
Aside from Franco and Gyllenhaal, "The Deuce" also stars Margarita Levieva as the college student, Abigail; Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as the cop Chris Alston; Gary Carr and Gbenga Akinnagbe as the pimps CC and Larry Brown; and Dominique Fishback and Emily Meade as the prostitutes Darlene and Lori.
"The Deuce" will premiere on HBO on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. EDT.
