HBO's "The Deuce" (Season 2)

[mredman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Seymour Love

Simon has said that the next season will take a time jump and take place in the late 70's and that some of the cast won't be back. He hopes to have a third season set in the mid 80s.

Wait what?? I really hope this is not true. That seems to be such a stupid move considering we now invested into these characters. At least i hope Franco, Gyllenhaal, Meade and Levieva return

Such a dumb move

[CreepyThinMan]

I've got a fixation with 42nd St. Times Square, New York of the mid-to-late 1970's. For me that place and time was Valhalla. My three favorite books on the subject are Tales of Times Square by Josh Alan Friedman, Ghosts of 42nd Street by Anthony Bianco and Sleazoid Express by Bill Landis and Michelle Clifford. The Other Hollywood by Legs McNeila and Jennifer Osborne is also a great book about the porn industry that touches upon that era.

Was disappointed that Franco got cast but, you know what, he's not being a douchebag meme actor in it but giving a genuine performance. Plus he looks right for the part. Art direction, costumes and cinematography are all solid. I watched the first episode and enjoy that it's more a slice of life show rather than trying to be flashy. Really sells the grit and sleaze of Times Square. Think more Robert Altman/Sidney Lumet rather than Scorcese/DePalma.

I'll be picking this up on Bluray if they make sure there's plenty of supplements on the shows production and the history of 42nd Street.

As for the shows future. I've read the plan to make this three seasons and I think that's a great idea. First season takes place at the beginning of the porn era just when Depp Throat was about to hit. Second season should take place during the Deuce's height/nadir in the late 70's while the third season should be at the beginning of the end when AIDS and crack started to kill Times Square. I don't have a problem with characters not returning for other seasons but I'd like a little bit of info as to what happened to these people at the end if this is the last we see of them.

Anywho, glad 42nd St. is getting some love!!!FACT!!!

[Rory]

In the late seventies, when I was around eighteen and nineteen years old, I used to go on the L.I.R. into the city from Long Island to see movies in and around Times Square before they opened wide. I remember seeing things like THE EYES OF LAURA MARS, INTERIORS, TRUE CONFESSIONS, HEAVEN CAN WAIT and ANIMAL HOUSE all on trips I took alone into Manhattan. I was that much of a movie nut because I'd been taken into the city when I was younger. I saw BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES in early June 1970 at Loew's State 2 and remember the trailer before it for KELLY'S HEROES.

Anyway, I wasn't into the seedier side of Times Square, but I loved the atmosphere of it anyway when there were still some old movie palaces surviving showing mainstream movies, and I never got hassled because I knew how to just walk fast, not make eye contact with people -- and just keep moving.

The last time I was in Times Square, about a decade ago, was the first time I'd been back there since the late seventies/early eighties and I couldn't believe how much it had changed. All the movie theatres were gone and the Broadway musicals were YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and THE LION KING. They'd Disneyfied the place. It had none of the old showbiz mystique. It just felt like a bland tourist trap. I almost wanted to cry.

[CreepyThinMan]

Originally Posted by Rory

In the late seventies, when I was around eighteen and nineteen years old, I used to go on the L.I.R. into the city from Long Island to see movies in and around Times Square before they opened wide. I remember seeing things like THE EYES OF LAURA MARS, INTERIORS, TRUE CONFESSIONS, HEAVEN CAN WAIT and ANIMAL HOUSE all on trips I took alone into Manhattan. I was that much of a movie nut because I'd been taken into the city when I was younger. I saw BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES in early June 1970 at Loew's State 2 and remember the trailer before it for KELLY'S HEROES.

Anyway, I wasn't into the seedier side of Times Square, but I loved the atmosphere of it anyway when there were still some old movie palaces surviving showing mainstream movies, and I never got hassled because I knew how to just walk fast, not make eye contact with people -- and just keep moving.

The last time I was in Times Square, about a decade ago, was the first time I'd been back there since the late seventies/early eighties and I couldn't believe how much it had changed. All the movie theatres were gone and the Broadway musicals were YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and THE LION KING. They'd Disneyfied the place. It had none of the old showbiz mystique. It just felt like a bland tourist trap. I almost wanted to cry.

I envy you. I went to New York back in late 2013 and stayed at the Hilton on 42nd St. Had a great time but, yeah, I'd give anything to have seen it when you did.

[Dr. Seymour Love]

So is the blonde wannabe actress who came in towards the end supposed to be based on Seka? Her character's backstory is exactly the same as Seka's.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Great points about how much Times Square has drastically changed, everyone. Though the early '70's era depicted in The Deuce was before my time, this series definitely seems to depict the era & sleazy/seedy locale down to a T, based on what I've seen in NYC-based films from that time period.

When I first went to Times Square back in the '80's (as a kid), I noticed the sleaze, but it also seemed "safer" than what had been seen in the '70's. That being said, obviously there was a lot of crime in NYC (and not just in Times Square) in the '70's & into the '80's, to some extent.

However, I was in TS most recently in Summer 2016, and definitely agree that the area was unrecognizable when compared to what it had been like 30-40 years earlier. There was some "commercialized" nudity (women with painted chests who wanted to pose with you, for a nominal fee, of course - LOL), but this wasn't even close to being as "edgy" & dangerous as what had been seen years earlier.

I did feel a lot safer walking around most parts of NYC late at night than I suspect I would have been in the '70's. Hell, I felt safer walking around NYC late @ night than I do walking around most other places (including where I live) during the day. In fact, I was surprised by how cleaned-up everything was in 2016 (not just in TS, but in most of the tourist spots). I didn't even see any aggressive panhandling, which I typically run into in other, smaller U.S. cities. That being said, there were the ubiquitous scammers/buskers, however - LOL.

[Rory]

It's all the old movie palaces and smaller theatres that are gone now that bothers me the most. The modern multiplexes that have replaced them just have none of the ambiances that old-fashioned lobbies with the posters and staircases and balconies had way back then. Going to the movies, even in NYC just isn't the "event" it used to be. They don't even show films at Radio City Music Hall anymore. So sad.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by Dr. Seymour Love

Simon has said that the next season will take a time jump and take place in the late 70's and that some of the cast won't be back. He hopes to have a third season set in the mid 80s.

This will be interesting. I know that others probably want the next two seasons of the show to take place in the same era as S01 (early 1970's), but I actually think it will be interesting have this time-jump & see how the characters (who are still around) have progressed as the years have gone by. I suspect that if they do a season set in the '80's, it will be very disturbing.

[Jompa]

This looks interesting. I will buy season 1. Is it similar to any other HBO shows?

[Shingster]

Well it's similar to all of David Simon's work on HBO but it's especially similar to Treme. It's basically Treme with Post-Katrina New Orleans music scene & greater community switched out for the Post-60s New York sex trade and greater community. Of course, unlike Treme this has greater scope for evolution across the seasons as it will no doubt deal with the developing porn industry and the gentrification of New York.

If you haven't seen Treme (coz let's face it, few people bothered despite it being a great show imo) then think of the last two seasons of The Wire.

[mdawg1972]

I'm just worried there may be recasting if the allegations against Franco are true.

[theusher]

It seems Franco will continue to star in the show:

HBO’s The Deuce is heading into production in the next couple of weeks on Season 2 with James Franco on board, amid sexual harassment allegations surrounding the star and executive producer.

Sources say plans remain unchanged and production is proceeding as scheduled on the porn industry drama, with scripts currently being written featuring Franco’s twin characters Vincent Martino and Frankie Martino.

http://deadline.com/2018/02/the-deuc...t-list-wrapper

[Dr. Seymour Love]

[Hoke Moseley]

I'm excited... season 1 was great but I'm hoping it'll only get better from here.

[fatediesel]

Is it confirmed that season 2 is going to be 8 episodes again? That's why IMDB shows but their information isn't always accurate.

[Hucksta G]

Can't wait, one of the best shows from last year.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Looking forward to S02 of The Deuce in September. One of HBO's best shows, hands down. Interesting that they plan on time-jumping to the late '70's (S01 took place around '71/'72, IIRC).

[Dr. Seymour Love]

According to the tweet that accompanied the above pic:

It's 1978. Punk, disco, and Porn. The City never sleeps.

[Dr. Seymour Love]

[Hoke Moseley]

That is a pretty big time jump...

Very intrigued by the punk aspect.