After the death of three horses during the production of LUCK, the cabler has decided to shut down the horse racing drama:
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.”
Initially, there had been talk of either not using horses or reducing the use of them. But either would have dramatically changed the show and I don’t think that was considered to be acceptable by Mann or Milch. Add to that the publicity these deaths have caused and it would seem the odds of the show gaining any momentum would be slim at best.
While difficult to follow, LUCK featured a stellar cast and some fantastic performances by Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte and others.