# The Deuce (2017)

> In 1970s and 1980s Times Square, a legalized porn industry and the street hustlers around it struggle for money and survival as the neighborhood changes.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58104

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 25
- Episode runtime: 59 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime, history
- Created by: David Simon, George Pelecanos
- Network: HBO
- Cast: James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chris Bauer, Chris Coy, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Luke Kirby, Margarita Levieva, Emily Meade
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4998350/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, melancholic, unvarnished, tense, grimy

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its period recreation and performances while the final season is rated lower.

## Synopsis

The Deuce (2017-2019) is an HBO period drama created by David Simon and George Pelecanos, a three-season ensemble crime drama spanning 25 episodes. Set in 1970s and 1980s Times Square, it follows the legalization and rise of New York's porn industry through the eyes of a web of hustlers, managers, bar owners and workers. James Franco plays twins Vincent and Frankie Martino, a bar owner and a hustler whose ambitions pull him between family obligations and the lure of quick money. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Eileen 'Candy' Merrell, a street-walking sex worker who transitions into filmmaking, while Chris Bauer plays Bobby Dwyer, a vice cop navigating a corrupt precinct. Each episode builds on the daily grind of negotiation, rent, protection money and the constant threat of violence. The show's engine is the struggle to stake a claim in a neighborhood where fortunes are made and lost overnight. Its tone is gritty, melancholic and unvarnished, with a deliberate, observational pace. Fans of The Wire, Boardwalk Empire and Treme will find resonance in its layered ensemble and its portrait of a city in transition.

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