mrblue96 Good stuff...really good stuff! Love the premise, the characters, the acting, the whole thing! Intriguing...enlightening...disgusting! What more do you want?! Franco & Franco are awesome! Can't wait for the 2nd season!Having been born in 72, I can relate to the clothing, the cars, the music. Growing up, you occasionally come across stories/history regarding Times Square back then b/f Rudy took over...great period piece to say the least.

pdb-70494 There are a lot of reviews that state the show is boring (I binge watched it and was very entertained)....that there is too much sex (it's a show that involves hookers....so there is sex...but I didn't find it excessive) and too much nudity (well....blush your little souls - people tend to be naked whilst doing it). It's not a show for prudes or for people easily offended. So I am not sure why people would watch a show that is focused on the sex industry of the 1970's - if that is not something they want to see. Common sense people.It's a fascinating look into the start of the sexually charged 1970's....here being told in the NYC setting. The introduction of XXX films, heavy prostitution and the corrupt forces that went with it. As well as the ill treatment of minorities. For those who dare delve into the lives of the characters of The Deuce....you will be rewarded with rich story-lines and emotionally charged performances - very well-acted through a stellar cast. You do feel invested in their stories...it blends comedic tones with the dark side of life as well.I would recommend watching at least the first episode. If you do not feel connected with the show at this point - then maybe it's not for you. I was interested from the get go...and I am so glad I didn't listen to the negative reviews for I almost didn't watch it because of them.Looking forward to season 2!

bigguy-03763 great gritty series but--as someone who lived thru the period most of the dialogue and visuals were on point and represent the seventies except two big errors-referring to saving an overdose victim thru narcan- :narcan---referring to saving an overdose victim thru use of narcan. while it is true narcan was approved for opiate overdose in 1971 it was not used to any degree until at least the ninties.And was not well known until recently.guitar hero-- character (Abby I believe) refers to a band in the bar being "better than that guitar hero s**t" when the game was not published until 2005.sorry to be nit picky but kind of spoiled the period piece aspect for me for those episodes

Paul Creeden I lived in Spanish Harlem in the period of this series. As a new college grad, recently a dental school drop out, I ventured to Oz. I walked the length and breadth of Manhattan in my wing-tip shoes. I couldn't find work. I was laughed out of clothing stores where I applied for sales jobs by gay clerks who correctly judged me as a provincial. Yes, it was a tough town.I partook of 42nd Street entertainments occasionally. Times Square and 42nd Street were shabby and inhabited by street people of every sort. The vibe was similar to what we can experience today in large cities of Africa, South America and South East Asia. Why? Because Manhattan then was a place where run-down housing was cheap. Hordes of disenfranchised young people fled there from every corner of America. The false promise of success drew them. Yet the aristocracy still ruled and exploited them. This series has captured the mood of 42nd Street and Times Square of that time. It has even brought back to me some of the smells of that district. It was pungent with cigarette smoke, burned grease from shabby diners, cheap perfume, and disinfectant. Cars spewed unfiltered pollution. Cabs honked incessantly. Loud voices pierced the din. Wary tourists gawked and skittered.I appreciate the show's avoidance of retrospective political correctness. Hookers, pimps and corrupt cops were not gentile. Perhaps the show softens them all a bit, but the basic content is accurate. As a young gay man of a politically aware nature, I lived the experience of being hunted by crooked cops and exploited by mob venues. I winced when James Franco first appeared as identical twins in the pilot. I doubted the show's ability to pull this off, but it has remarkably well. Maggie Gyllenhaal does an exemplary job as an aging prostitute, independent of the pimp patriarchy. Her character exposes the underside of pre-feminist independence for women of the 1950's and 1960's. While Katherine Hepburn was playing upper class women of stature, the reality on the ground was quite different, especially for working-class women and women of color.This is the kind of programming which might save channels like HBO in an age of increased streaming competition. I place it on a tier with Showtime's "Ray Donovan". Gritty drama with suspense and good character development (writing) seldom fail.