HBO’s The Deuce: Season 2
Seamy Times Square's Underbelly Exposed
HBO‘s The Deuce was one of our favorite shows of last year. An uncompromising look at the sex industry in the volatile setting of 1970s New York (“The Deuce” was the nickname of 42nd Street back in the old days), a borderline lawless land where sex shops were more numerous than candy shops, and peep shows were a bigger attraction than Broadway shows.
Although the show boasts the power of A-listers James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well as big names like Ralph Macchio, David Krumholtz, and Method Man in supporting roles, the true rising star of The Deuce is Dominique Fishback, who stole our hearts thanks to her scene-stealing turn as one of our all-time favorite TV hookers, but that’s a whole other story.
The new season of The Deuce will have nine episodes, which is one more than the first season, which had eight, according to our math. In a surprising twist, the new season picks up in 1978, six years after the finale of year one, which saw the lead characters attend the red carpet premiere of Deep Throat, one of the most important pornographic films ever made. A lot can change in six years, and the new season promises higher stakes for Eileen (Gyllenhaal), who is still striving to become a big-name director in the decidedly male-oriented porn business. Meanwhile, James Franco‘s mustache remains as beautiful as ever… Seriously, if he ever decides to shave it off, they should just cancel the whole show.
All joking aside, The Deuce is one of the most provocative shows on television. It rarely glamorizes the dangerous business of sex work, instead opting to show it as a shady trading ground for amoral capitalists; there’s no room for “Free Love” when one can resort to “Free Trade.” The Deuce, and much of the sex industry that followed in its wake, was a bastion for the strong who would prey on the weak, but also a new frontier for the American Dream, where anyone with big goals, a strong work ethic, and a lot of luck, could make a name for themselves in this unorthodox new marketplace.
Season two of The Deuce begins September 9 on HBO.
