After three horses died during the production of the horse-racing series Luck, HBO has decided to cancel the series and shut down production.
The cast and crew were in the middle of shooting the second episode of their second season. HBO had initially said that filming would continue on the David Milch series with scenes that didn’t involve horses. Word is now that production is shutting down for good. The second episode of the sophomore season won’t be completed and the first episode won’t air.
While Luck boasts a lot of talented performers — Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Kevin Dunn, Ian Hart, Ritchie Coster, Jason Gedrick, Kerry Condon, Gary Stevens, Tom Payne, and Jill Hennessy — the numbers weren’t nearly as impressive. The pilot drew 1.14 million viewers for a December 2011 preview and 1.06 million when it was rerun in late January. Viewership fell off pretty quickly and Luck drew only 445,000 two weeks ago.
HBO gave the go-ahead for a second season of Luck following the second airing of the pilot and before the ratings plunge.
While viewers won’t get to see any of the second season, HBO plans to air the remaining two episodes. The de-facto series finale will air on March 25th at 9pm.
Here’s the official statement from HBO:
Statement on Luck
It is with heartbreak that executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann together with HBO have decided to cease all future production on the series LUCK.
Safety is always of paramount concern. We maintained the highest safety standards throughout production, higher in fact than any protocols existing in horseracing anywhere with many fewer incidents than occur in racing or than befall horses normally in barns at night or pastures. While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won’t in the future. Accordingly, we have reached this difficult decision.
We are immensely proud of this series, the writing, the acting, the filmmaking, the celebration of the culture of horses, and everyone involved in its creation.
Quote from Michael Mann and David Milch: “The two of us loved this series, loved the cast, crew and writers. This has been a tremendous collaboration and one that we plan to continue in the future.”
What do you think? Do you think HBO did the right thing? Should Luck have been cancelled?
Image courtesy HBO.
They need to finish season two to many dimacrats I swear what Ruin everything
I don’t think the series should have been cancelled. The show offered a unique look at the culture surrounding horse racing, and gambling in general. I also thought it provided viewers with a some food for thought regarding the ethics surrounding the industry , pitfalls, and lives of those connected with horse racing. It was a welcome relief to have a series that was not a dark, violent one for a change. Kudos to the creators and actors.
I just watched the season on HBO GO, I really liked the show and am really disappointed that it’s cancelled, I hope they change their mind
I sincerely believe that the second season should have continued. I enjoyed he series and I felt bad hearing of its cancekation.
[…] Luck (HBO) The drama boasted lots of talented actors but not many viewers cared enough to watch. After three horses died during the production of season two, the cable channel shut down the series. […]
[…] Luck (HBO) The drama boasted lots of talented actors but not many viewers cared enough to watch. After three horses died during the production of season two, the cable channel shut down the series. […]
Love the show
Hate to see it go!! 🙁
Very disappointed in hearing it was cancelled. I am not a horse person, I appreciate them and think that the three deaths are truly tragic. I wish there was a way the series could continue with modifications made in the filming of the racing sequences. I assume real horse racing is pretty dangerous for the horses and jockeys. It would be haed to tell the story without real racing scenes. Luck was the the best show I have seen on TV since the Sopranos. It was gripping from start to finish, watched back to back episodes on HBO on demand… Read more »
While I am a horse lover and think they are beautiful, I do not think Luck should be cancelled. I was Hooked with the great cast and performances on the first episode. I was very dissappointed to see the headline and story regarding the cancellation. Horses have injuries during regular races and noone has cancelled horse racing!!
This show was very hard to get into with the big name stars I find that probally led to its cancellation.watch game of thrones if you like horses.
Hey, this series can’t be finished, it’s the best thing I’ve seen in years on TV.
Let’s open a online petition to ask HBO not to finish the series, but to restart it with maximum security regarding the horses (that is, to do whatever it takes in order not to have any horse death nor risk of death: old footage from real horse racing, computer effects, whatever etc.)
I didn’t understand much of the show.
I also thought the season 2 call was very fast. The show must have been expensive with all the name people. I am not surprised at it’s cancelling.
Can someone confirm that it was Tim Allen taking the photos from the car? I thought it was but did not see his name in the credits.
I’d been protesting this show since I first caught wind of it. Animals have always been treated poorly, on and off sets. The American Humane Society had the gall to say their investigating the set. Weren’t they supposed to be ON the set during filming? Of course not! I’ve worked on many sets myself and regardless of how many times the film boasts “no animals were harmed during …” the AHS were very often no-shows most of the time. In fact, one AHS employee admitted once that horses are, sadly, the number one most abused animals on sets. Why wasn’t… Read more »
I would like to see this one Come back…the Charters where getting Good and the Drama was even better…I am Sad for the Loss of the Animals, but the story of the 4 Misfits really should be told…
Very disappointed the show is cancelled. The almost incomprehensible dialogue due to the mumbling or accents or both made it very frustrating to watch at first. I am sure that turned a lot of people off. However, I felt they started to really hit stride in the last few episodes. The horse-racing footage was truly magnificent. Best I have ever seen.
This is definitely a strange twist of fate, after the super-early renewel news. My heart breaks for the horses, not this show. They should go ahead and include the first episode of the second season as a “bonus episode” in the Season 1 DVD pack, though.