AceShowbiz -

HBO continues its partnership with David Simon after some critically-acclaimed projects they worked on together. The network has ordered two new pilots from the creator of "The Wire" and "Treme", one of which is a porn drama titled "The Deuce".

Set in New York in 1970s/'80s, "The Deuce" has James Franco on board to play twin brothers who were "players in the Times Square world and became fronts for Mob control of the volatile and lucrative sex industry from its origins."

"It follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market all ended the bawdy turbulence."

Michelle MacLaren ("Game of Thrones", Breaking Bad") has signed up to direct. "We're interested in what it means when profit is the primary metric for what we call society," Simon says of the porn drama. "In that sense, this story is intended as neither prurient nor puritan. It's about a product, and those human beings who created, sold, profited from and suffered with that product."

The second pilot is still untitled and set in the present-day world of Capitol Hill. The political drama will present "a detailed examination of partisanship and the influence of money on national governance." It is a collaboration between Simon and journalist Carl Bernstein.

HBO programming president Michael Lombardo says, "We are thrilled to continue our longstanding relationship with preeminent producer David Simon, whose keen eye and visceral perspective on today's socio-economic ills have set him apart from all others. No one else creates with such authenticity, integrity and brilliant realism. We are so fortunate to support David's efforts and to reap the benefits of his distinctive voice."