James Franco Returns To ‘The Deuce’ Season 2 Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations

HBO has decided to not cut ties with James Franco amid recently sexual abuse allegations against the actor.

“The Deuce” writer Megan Abbott told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday that the 39-year-old actor would “of course” be involved in the show’s second season. In the series, Franco plays the role of twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino, the heads of a New York mob operating out of Times Square.

Last month, the Los Angeles Times released an explosive article wherein five women accused Franco of inappropriate behavior and abuse of power. However, a source close to the award-winning actor said that the women’s accounts were all false. Franco also denied the accusations during his appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” as well as in “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”

Meanwhile, after Franco made headlines for the series of sexual harassment and power abuse allegations, “The Deuce” executive producer and co-creator David Simon said that he will be looking into the accounts made by the five women. However, Simon also said that he has not received any complaints against Franco.

“Personally I can only speak knowledgeably to ‘The Deuce.’ I’ve checked with all my fellow producers and other personnel. We have no complaint or complaint or any awareness of any incident of concern involving Mr. Franco. Nor has HBO been approached with any complaint. In our experience, he was entirely professional as an actor, director, and producer,” Simon told Variety.

Meanwhile, friends of Franco revealed that the actor was gravely affected by the “false” reports against him. A source told Entertainment Tonight that Franco’s friends are watching him closely since he’s been struggling. “His friends are really worried about him. He’s not in a good place. They’re watching him around the clock. He’s really struggling,” the source said.

But the same source also said that Franco was not surprised that he was accused of inappropriate behavior especially since the MeToo and Time’s Up movements have gained momentum. Even though he denied all of the accusations against him, Franco tried to reach out to the five women and apologized.