'The Deuce' Looks at Prostitution and Pornography in Times Square's Bad Old Days

The tourists strolling the streets of today's Times Square are walking the same blocks once frequented by pimps, prostitutes and gamblers. Those historic scenes of 1970s Times Square are highlighted in the new HBO series "The Deuce."

David Simon created the series with George Pelecanos; they worked together on "The Wire." Simon says the show seeks to expand the conversation about sex work beyond glorification or demonization.

"I'm much less interested in trying to make an on-screen argument about whether or not pornography or sex work or prostitution, depending on what term you want to use, is good or bad," Simon told WNYC's Jami Floyd. "I'm much more interested in how systems arrange themselves around money and power."

Simon says he was motivated to follow the story in part because of its present day ramifications. He says exploitation and a hunger for profit are modern themes that can be traced back to the boom of the sex industry in New York.

The eight episode season premiered on Sunday, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco.