David Simon has been in thick with HBO since The Wire ended, producing Generation Kill, Treme, and the upcoming mini-series Show Me a Hero. Their relationship will continue to flourish even longer, as THRreports Simon is developing a new series that'll focus on the mustached heyday of porn known as the '70s.
The yet-to-be-picked-up series is called The Deuce and will focus on the legalization and rise of pornography in New York City's Times Square from the early '70s to mid-'80s. That setting will also bring in the "rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and a rejuvenated real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence."
Simon spoke with THR about the delicate balance he's aiming for with the show:
You don't want to make porn to critique porn because that would be a venal journey—nor do you want to look down on people because that also is fairly dishonest. You really have to land it in such a way where it’s a story about people and it’s a story about markets—about the moment where something became legal and profitable and what happens to people in that environment when markets prevail.
Grab the popcorn while we wait for the green light from HBO.
