вЂњI was never interested as much in the morality of whether drugs are good or bad in The Wire as I was in how power and money array themselves and how society arranges itself so that some people are victims and some people are victimizers.вЂќД«elow are some other things to keep in mind when The Deuce premieres September 10 and we begin to debate if itвЂ™s the next The Wire (and if the casting of James Franco as twin brothers-one corrupt and one just trying to make it in this crazy city-and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a prostitute-turned-porn industry player have any impact on that.)

вЂњIвЂ™m much less interested in whether porn is good or bad in a moral sense,вЂќ he says. He adds that the Times Square depicted on screen is no longer there, but porn вЂњis everywhere.вЂќ He wants to tell the stories of вЂњwhat happened to those people who are the pioneers and who became caught up in it and seized it aggressively and willingly.вЂќ вЂњBut this is a moment where you actually get to see something go from paper bag, beneath the counterвЂ¦ and then, suddenly, itвЂ™s legal and everyone realizes that the money involved in that is real.вЂќ вЂњPornographyвЂ™s been around since some French guy invented the cameraвЂ¦ and prostitutionвЂ™s been around since forever,вЂќ Simon deadpanned to journalists during the Television Critics AssociationвЂ™s biannual press tour Wednesday evening. Just as The Wire and Treme were about more than drugs or New Orleans, David Simon wants fans of The Deuce, which he co-created with George Pelecanos, to know that his new HBO drama, set in 1970s New York, is about more than the birthplace of the porn industry.

When does the deuce return