Abortion ban prompts ‘The Wire’ creator to pull HBO series from being filmed in Texas

A new HBO miniseries based out of Texas will no longer be filmed in the state because of its new abortion law, the showrunner said Monday.

David Simon, who created the critically acclaimed series “The Wire,” is now looking for suggestions for filming locations for the new nonfiction show.

“This is beyond politics,” Simon said on Twitter on Monday. “I’m turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can’t and won’t ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth?”

The new Texas law, which went into effect earlier this month, bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks into pregnancy. The controversial ruling is considered the biggest upending of abortion rights since the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Simon said his decision to no longer film the show in Texas is not politically based, but rather to ensure the civil liberties of all of his workers.

“I don’t anticipate anything other than that if even one of our employees requires full control of her own body and choices — and if a law denies this or further criminalizes our attempt to help her exercise that control, we should have filmed elsewhere,” Simon said Tuesday.

Details of the new HBO show have not been publicly disclosed.

But filming for the prequel to the Kevin Costner-led series, “Yellowstone,” titled “Y: 1883” is on as scheduled. The new series starring Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott began production this month in North Texas.

This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Abortion ban prompts ‘The Wire’ creator to pull HBO series from being filmed in Texas."