HBO Original Series 🎥 Review: “The Deuce". Critics gave it a 93% the users an 83%. Rated: TV-MA with eight 1hr episodes and an IMDb of 8.1/10. Main Cast: James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Margarita Levieva, Lawrence Gilliard Jr, & Emily Meade just to name a few of the long list of actors.

Created by George Pelecanos and David Simon, who also collaborated on HBO's "The Wire" and "Treme," the semi-fictional drama series "The Deuce" tells of the germination of the sex-trade industry in the heart of New York's Times Square. It's the early 1970s, and the porn business begins a shift from organized crime-backed parlors to a legitimate, culturally accepted enterprise.

James Franco takes on double duty, playing Brooklyn-raised twins Vincent and Frankie. Vincent is the hangdog, dependable one, mistreated by his party-girl wife (Zoe Kazan) and generally kicked around by the world. But he maintains an even disposition; he’s decent and thorough and loyal. Frankie is his own kind of decent, but he’s also a mooch and a gambler. It’s his debts that get him and his brother involved with the mafia, which then gets them involved—tangentially, at first—in the sex trade, starting with a dive bar in the neighborhood and then branching out. Franco’s affable, easy-going performances are among the best, most natural work he’s yet done.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Candy/Eileen, a rare street walker who works sans pimp, smart and flinty but awash in a pale glow of sadness. Gyllenhaal plays characters like this so well with her physicality and weary droop in her speech.

The Deuce is not just about prostitution, of course. Set in 1971, nearing the height of the brief “porn chic” era when Deep Throat was a national sensation, The Deuce chronicles the transition of a market from real to virtual, from street to screen. It’s a fascinating bit of modern history, the way consumption and morals evolved, and how an industry instigated that change while also adapting in reaction to it.

While The Deuce’s first season takes a lot of time to get to where it’s going, that gradualness allows the show to give fair attention to all its many interlocking story lines.

This series is NOT for sensitive eyes/ears. It’s totally filled with nudity, sexual situations, drugs and murders. Some might think this is a cheaply made series, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. Some of the award nominations are as follows: 2018 Nominee Golden GlobeBest Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama Maggie Gyllenhaal; 2018 Nominee ASC AwardOutstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture, Miniseries, or Pilot Made for Television.

Season 2 is airing on HBO as we speak. If you plan on watching this, without a doubt, go back and watch Season 1 first. You will miss out on the set up and back stories for this series if you just jump into Season 2.  

I loved season 1 and was looking forward to season 2. It’s hear and we are DVR’ing it weekly……If you don’t have HBO I think you can see season 1 on Amazon Prime……enjoy.