Set around Times Square in the early 1970s, this drama concerns the burgeoning pornography industry and turns on a cross section of bartenders, gamblers, gangsters, policemen, prostitutes, and other denizens of the city at night. The series is masterminded by George Pelecanos and David Simon, who previously collaborated on The Wire. The ensemble cast includes James Franco (in dual roles), Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and Zoe Kazan.



The pilot is extremely impressive. One instantly feels Simon's confident, masterful hand as he spins webs around these dynamic and flawed characters and reveals the systems in which they toil. Gyllenhaal seems set to deliver a particularly strong performance.

I guess it recalls HBO's A-list, renewed-then-canceled misfire Vinyl, which I found hypnotic at its best and frustrating at its worst (the whole mob-and-murder subplot felt obligatory and extraneous). Obviously this has much more positive reviews. I hope ratings are also superior.

I've never been a big David Simon fan and while there were segments of this I didn't like (the long passages of meandering dialogue between the pimps at Port Authority was snooze worthy) a good segment of it was great. Maggie Gyllenhaal was fantastic - I absolutely loved the scene between her and the client where she talked about jobs. The other women were also impressive and I'm curious to see how their stories develop. Franco's characters for me thus far are hands down the least interesting.

Yes have high hopes for this despite Vinyl failing to live up to expectations. The allure of 1970's NYC in all its filthy glory is reason enough to watch this. So far so good at least.

I'm interested for Gyllenhaal. I'll check it out eventually.

Watched the first two episodes of this and I'm really digging it so far. I'm loving the 70's aesthetic and even for a HBO show I'm still surprised how far they push the envelope. Also, while all the performances are solid, Maggie Gyellenhaal is definitely the stand out. Her character is easily the most interesting and sympathetic IMO.

It's also pretty cool seeing so many people from The Wire in this as well.

I loved the second episode. All the women are fantastic. Franco's characters are boring.

This ended up being great. The finale was incredibly strong.

I still don't give two shits about either James Franco character, but man Maggie Gyllenhaal was just incredible here. What a great showcase for her. Also, Dominique Fishback is a breakout. Loved her character.

Solid finale to an overall great show. Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance is easily the standout of the entire thing, but I just as engaged with everything else going on. Can't wait for Season 2.