Chris Coy is staying in the HBO fold with a series regular role on The Deuce, HBO’s upcoming drama series starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Also cast on the show as recurring is Mustafa Shakir.

Written by The Wire creator David Simon and longtime collaborator George Pelecanos and directed by Michelle MacLaren, The Deuce follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic, and the renewed real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence.

Coy will play Paul Hendrickson. A kindred spirit to Vincent Martino (Franco), Paul is a veteran bartender who pursues his own personal and professional ambitions in the emerging gay, lesbian and transsexual community of ’70s New York.

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The project reunites Coy with Simon after a series regular turn on Simon’s HBO drama series Treme. Coy also recurred on HBO’s vampire drama True Blood and most recently was a series regular on Banshee, which aired on HBO’s sister network Cinemax.

TCA/Jed Root

Shakir plays Big Mike, a man of few words, a physically imposing loner who becomes Vincent’s primary muscle and fiercely devoted friend.

On Deuce, Coy joins fellow new series regular cast additions Michael Rispoli and Natalie Paul. The series also co-stars Gary Carr, Margarita Levieva, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Dominique Fishback and Emily Meade. Simon, Pelecanos, Price, MacLaren and Franco serve as executive producers along with longtime Simon collaborator Nina K. Noble. Marc Henry Johnson, who was instrumental in documenting the story, is a producer, along with Gyllenhaal.

Coy is repped by WME and Main Title. Mustafa is with TCA/Jed Root and Robyn Bluestone Management.