James Franco will play twins at the centre of the 1970s porn industry. Photo / Gettys
James Franco will play twins at the centre of the 1970s porn industry. Photo / Gettys
HBO has reunited with The Wire creator David Simon for a new TV show about the porn industry, with James Franco set to lead.
The American network has ordered a pilot for The Deuce, a 1970s set drama about the rise of porn in New York after it became legalised.The show will be based in Manhattan and will also cover the HIV epidemic, the cocaine industry and the real estate market.
According to Deadline.com, James Franco will play twins that were at the centre of the porn industry at the time, serving as Mob fronts to control the business. Michelle MacLaren, director and executive producer of Breaking Bad, is set to direct the pilot.
About the show, Simon said: "We're interested in what it means when profit is the primary metric for what we call society. In that sense, this story is intended as neither prurient nor puritan. It's about a product, and those human beings who created, sold, profited from and suffered with that product."
HBO has also ordered a second pilot from Simon, an untitled drama about the influence money has on national government in America.
As well as The Wire, Simon also created the New Orleans drama Treme, and his miniseries Show Me a Hero starring Oscar Isaac premieres on SoHo September 3. Though more known for his film career, Franco got one of his big breaks in Freaks and Geeks as Daniel Desario, and recently filmed a miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's novel 11/23/63.
No other casting details are available yet. The pilot will film within the next year.
