Luck (2011– )

A TV series centered around characters who are tied to the same horse-racing track.

Creator:

David Milch

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Chester Bernstein (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Dennis Farina	...	Gus Demitriou (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
John Ortiz	...	Turo Escalante (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Richard Kind	...	Joey Rathburn (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jill Hennessy	...	Jo (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Nick Nolte	...	Walter Smith (10 episodes, 2011-2012)
Kevin Dunn	...	Marcus (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ian Hart	...	Lonnie (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Ritchie Coster	...	Renzo (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Jason Gedrick	...	Jerry (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Kerry Condon	...	Rosie (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Gary Stevens	...	Ronnie Jenkins (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Tom Payne	...	Leon Micheaux (9 episodes, 2011-2012)
Miguel Delgado		(7 episodes, 2012)
Joan Allen	...	Claire Lachay (6 episodes, 2012)
Alan Rosenberg	...	Nick DeRossi (6 episodes, 2011-2012)
Michael Gambon	...	Michael (5 episodes, 2012)
Ted Levine	...	Isadore Cohen (5 episodes, 2012)
Chantal Sutherland	...	Lizzy (5 episodes, 2011-2012)
Shauna Stoddart	...	Lorelei (5 episodes, 2012)

Storyline

A TV series centered around characters who are tied to the same horse-racing track.

---

Plot Keywords:

race track | horse trainer | horse race | organized crime | gambling

---

Taglines:

Leave nothing to chance.

---

Genres:

Drama | Sport

---

Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Befutó

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

52 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two horses were injured during filming and later euthanized. The American Humane Association released a statement saying that both racehorses suffered severed fractures that were checked by veterinarians and deemed inoperable. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals criticized HBO over the injuries and euthanization of the horses. After the death of a third horse, HBO suspended any filming involving horses while investigations by the AHA took place. It was determined that the third horse was not injured during filming. HBO decided to cancel the series rather than risk any further animal injuries.

---

Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: Cliff Jumper (2012)

User Reviews

Difficult beginning due to jargon, accents and pre-existing conditions. But then...

Although the first episode of this series was painful to get through, each episode thereafter gets better and better. After an inaudible beginning "Luck" just might careers and an industry.

As a horse lover and long time fan of Nick Nolte, I wanted to like this show but the first episode was loaded with track jargon, slang, broken English, low quality sound, and heavy accents. There also wasn't much seen of Nolte in the first episode. Fortunately I had the first 3 episodes programmed on the DVR so I had a vested interest in at least watching these recorded episodes. By the third episode I enabled closed caption so that I could follow better. I wish I had not deleted the first episode because I would have re-watched it in closed caption. This first episode is chock-full of information and innuendos, probably why it was so difficult to get through.

This is unfortunate because the series gets better with each episode and I'm sure the lack of clarity in the beginning has meant the series has lost viewers.

Viewers should know, however, that Nolte and Dustin Hoffman are not in this series for nothing. Nolte, whose notorious good looks is now replaced with grey hair and lots of character is a nostalgic owner/trainer brokenhearted over the past with a keen sense of a good race horse. Hoffman starts out stiff and almost out of place, but then his character is out of place due to a series of previous events.

Integrity and love is really what this series is about. The four gamblers, you find, after a few episodes, really love each other. The jockeys love to ride, Nolte loves horses, and Hoffman loves his right hand man. What seems evident is that some day soon, all of these characters will come together in an as yet unknown common experience.

The sound quality of this series is perhaps the only flaw and it's a big flaw. This seems to be common in today's movies and series. You understood every word Bogart said in Casablanca. It is called "projection." Old school directors and actors knew about this. I don't know what happened or why contemporary films ignores the need for people to hear and understand what characters are saying. It's almost as if they think this some type of technique but it isn't and is surely the reason, perhaps the only reason that this show may not get the viewers it deserves. Despite this,I rate this series high which says just how good this series could be.

If you love horses, racing, Nolte, Hoffman or Farina, I highly recommend this series, despite the audio issues which I hope, given a second season, they fix. If you love a good race, which there seems to be one in almost every episode, this series is also for you. "Luck," given the chance, may revive the horse racing industry. It reminds you of just why this sport is the "sport of kings." Hope they will fix the audio, first time I can remember sound being such a "handicap."