How David Simon’s Porn Drama ‘The Deuce’ Keeps Its Women Characters Real (And The Critical Praise Pouring In)

“Ensuring these women were not portrayed, in any way, as broken, was crucial. ‘The female characters are fully rounded,’ says one of the show’s writers, Lisa Lutz. ‘They might make some bad choices, they might have some terrible experiences, but they are not silent victims.'” Says director Michelle MacLaren, “We want the 1971 version of this show, not the present-day one. We had to remember this is the pre-Aids era and certain things we take for granted now, attitudes towards women and sex, were not looked at as clearly in this time.'”