James Franco is set to star in a new HBO series, 'The Deuce', that tells the story of the rise and legalization of the porn industry in New York.  It is set in the 1970's and 80's. But if you expect to see Franco do some nasty moves, the nastiest he may get would be executing someone. Franco will play two versions of himself as twins, who are part of the mobster ruling the porn films industry.

Huffington Post reports that the pilot will be a creative creation of David Simon, the genius behind 'The Wire'.  George Pelecanos will also co-write. The shoot, which will start in October, will be directed by Michelle MacLaren, famous for 'Game of Thrones' and 'Breaking Bad'.

The vision of creator Simon is that the 'story is intended as neither prurient nor puritan'. He talks about the porn industry as a product, 'those human beings who created, sold, profited from and suffered with that product."

The series explores the world of the porn industry that thrived in Manhattan during that time until HIV and drugs entered the picture.  It paints all other factors, like real estate market and general financial climate that affected the porn industry.

Franco is an American actor and teacher. He had his first good break in 'Freaks and Geeks'. He played the role of James Dean in the latter's biographical film. It earned Franco a Golden Globe Award. He has also appeared in the Spider-Man trilogy.  He is a recurring guest in the ABC hit soap 'General Hospital'. And because he is a fan of spiders and anything animal, he starred in the Broadway musical 'Of Mice and Men.'  He also teaches courses in production, screenwriting and filmmaking. 

His sexuality was made an issue when he was very vocal about his support for the LGBT community. While he did not confront the matter directly, he dated Maria Sokoloff for five years. Then after, actress Ahna O'Reilly was his girlfriend until 2011.