True Blood alum Chris Bauer and Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire) have booked series regular roles on The Deuce, HBO’s upcoming drama series starring James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

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-’80s, 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.

Bauer will play Bobby Dwyer, Vincent and Frankie Martino’s brother-in-law, a construction foreman and family man whose eyes are opened by their adventures along the Deuce. Akinnagbe is Larry Brown, an intense and demanding pimp who physically intimidates his stable of women but also has moments that betray a conflicted, underlying humanity.

The project reunites both Bauer and Akinnagbe with Simon from their days on HBO’s The Wire. Bauer recently wrapped the third season of Survivor’s Remorse and was a member of the ensemble cast on American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson. On the film side, he recently wrapped the Untitled Sully Project for Clint Eastwood. Akinnagbe next will be seen in Independence Day: Resurgence with Liam Hemsworth and Jeff Goldblum, which bows Friday.

Bauer is repped by Innovative Artists, Framework and attorney Ira Schreck. Akinnagbe is with APA and Zero Gravity Management.