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‘Luck,’ the HBO Drama With the Thoroughbred Pedigree — Dustin Hoffman in Front of the Camera, David Milch and Michael Mann Behind It — Abruptly Canceled After Third Horse Dies on Set

Mar 15, 2012  •  Post A Comment

HBO has announced the cancellation of the racetrack drama "Luck" following the death of a third horse, reports The New York Times’ ArtsBeat blog.

The step came after HBO initially suspended filming with horses following the death, as previously reported.

The animal was being led to a stable by a groom when it reared and fell back, causing a head injury.

The show, which had a high-profile cast and creative team, was plagued by questions about how it handled horses, with the American Humane Association requesting an inquiry after the third death. Two other horses had been euthanized during the first season’s production.

"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," HBO said in a statement.

The show starred Dustin Hoffman and had David Milch (“NYPD Blue,” “Deadwood”) and Michael Mann (“Heat,” “Public Enemies”) among its producers.

5 Comments

  1. WTF!
    I will definitely miss “Luck” and its interesting cast of characters. This show became my replacement for Sunday Night Football. I enjoyed the myriad of story lines that were being played out and well acted. Definitely going to miss Jill Hennessy and am hopeful that she will again return to the small screenand/or movies real quick!
    “Luck” simply ran out of luck. Drats!!

  2. Why not just change the storyline away from the track? I mean, with Hoffman, Milch and Mann – some of the most talented people and creative minds ever – surely they could find an avenue to keep the interest peaked in this excellent program. The characters they developed were intriguing, and they could use the deaths of these noble animals to their advantage to veer the writing and still keep the audience enthralled.

  3. Is Tori Spelling busy?

  4. Common on! We all know that this was just an excuse. The show wasn’t doing well in the ratings and HBO needed an excuse to cancel, since they couldn’t just cut stars like Hoffman, Milch and Mann.

  5. This was a great show,I watched it every sunday just as I did the Sopranos.Why not just wait a lttle bit and bring it back?

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