David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire,’ won’t film new HBO series in Texas because of abortion law

The name and subject of David Simon’s next project for HBO have not yet been announced. But we do know the famous quirky showrunner refuses to film it in North Texas in the face of the Lone Star State’s ban on abortion.

It’s been a good year for the local movie scene, at least until now. That summer, 12 Mighty Orphans was released, a film with an impressive cast that was shot in Fort Worth. There’s also the recent hit of Dallas director David Lowery’s The Green Knight and a Yellowstone prequel series filmed in Fort Worth last month.

A David Simon nonfiction HBO miniseries based on events in Texas would be especially good for the area next year. But the creator of The Wire, often considered one of the greatest television shows of all time, apparently plans to shoot in a city that looks like Dallas-Fort Worth.

“This goes beyond politics,” said Simon in a tweet on September 20. “I’m submitting scripts for an HBO nonfiction miniseries based on events in Texas next month, but I cannot and will not ask female cast / crew to forego civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas / Ft. Value?”

If it is an employer, it is beyond politics. I am submitting scripts for an HBO nonfiction miniseries based on events in Texas next month, but I cannot and will not ask female cast / crew to forego civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas / Ft. Value? https://t.co/q6Py6XikYh

– David Simon (@AoDespair) September 20, 2021

“We stage productions where women don’t risk anything and endure nothing in order to control their own bodies,” added Simon in a response on Twitter.

HBO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Simon joins others who have spoken publicly about the legislation, the country’s most restrictive anti-abortion law, which essentially bans abortions after six weeks.

World Business Chicago, the city of Chicago’s public-private economic development arm, bought a full-page Sunday ad in the Dallas Morning News urging companies uncomfortable with the law to go north.

Earlier this month the city of Portland, Oregon tabled a plan to boycott Texan businesses over the law, but later rejected it because it feared it might be “punishing for Texans, who are indeed the hardest hit.” .

Criticism of corporate law in Texas was much less.

In the corporate sphere of the state, opposition came from dating app companies Match Group and Bumble, as well as ridesharing companies Lyft and Uber. Apple told thousands of Austin workers it will keep an eye on the law’s legal challenges. And Salesforce’s chief executive officer said the company will help employees leave Texas if they have concerns about access to reproductive health care.

The Dallas Art Fair also pledged to donate $ 50,000 to Planned Parenthood, calling the law “extreme, unconstitutional and downright dangerous”.

Economists and business analysts say the economics of staying in the state largely outweighs the potential burden the legislation could put on corporate finances or the ability to attract talent – even despite the public outcry.

But the state hasn’t always been so kind to Hollywood. For the film and television industry, business incentives have waned in Texas while they have increased in nearby states, the Fort Worth report found in April. Have you ever noticed those palm trees at the Dallas Buyers Club?

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