"If I'm gonna die, at least let it be doing something cool, like The Hobbit!"
HBO has pulled the plug on Luck, its highly-regarded but trouble-plagued horse-gambling series, after a third horse died during shooting. Here's their statement:
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.
Surprised? I am, somewhat. The show had already begun production on the second season of the series when a third horse died as the result of an injury sustained during filming. Still, the Hollywood Reporter indicates that ratings might've just as much been a cause of this; the show's been averaging well under a million viewers per episode. I've heard good things about the latest episodes of the show, but it doesn't look like we'll get much in the way of a second season.
That's got to hurt the back pocket.
That they seem to keep killing horses, and then claim they have the highest safety standards anywhere? Yes, I am surprised.
" HBO said the horse was being led to a stable by a groom when it reared and fell back, suffering a head injury."
Hmmm.
Horses stopped fearing the glue factory truck and started to fear the HBO productions van.
Figured they would keep it around for "prestige" reasons but if stuff was just not working might as well kill it. Everyone I know who is into TV and stuff hasn't shown much interest in the show so it never piqued my interest.
Good, the show wasn't anything special, and no animal should die to bring us entertainment.
The show is fucking indecipherable. No wonder nobody watched it. At least nobody that didn't read the form guide.
Seems like they just had a really dumb horse that deserved to die.
If you're a fan of David Milch, you probably loved this show, and it's a shame it got cancelled. It was a very good show and a quintessentially David Milch show - you're either down for that, or you're not.
Ratings might have played into this, but remember that Enlightened got .26 million viewers at its peak and .09 million at its very lowest, and that got renewed for a second season. I have no clue what HBO does or why they do it.
Not sure exactly what you mean by "risk" the ire of PETA. When it comes to those assholes, ire is what you get upfront. I can't imagine that they haven't been supporting protests ever since this show was even announced.
@SolidOcelot said:
If it's a show as good as this, they absolutely should!
@SolidOcelot said:
Do you use any beauty products because realize all of the testing done on animals probably isn't to good for them either
Well two of them died during filming but the third didn't but still no animals deserve to die because we want entertainment.
Why not just shoot a ton of B-Roll and keep recycling it? All horses look the same; if you can change Chinese people to Koreans in post-production (I'm looking at you, Red Dawn remake), they could easily have easily changed the color of jockey's shirts on the horses and just...kept recycling that same afternoon's worth of B-roll :)
Of course I jest. They made the right call. Totally not worth a bunch of dead horses for a boring tv show.
;D
@Martin_Blank: They just may have high safety standards and nothing can stop horses from being stupid frail animals that seem desperate to kill themselves.
Oddest reason I've heard to cancel the show. While I'm sure low ratings and scuttlebutt sealed the deal, it's still kinda odd to me that something was canceled because some animals were hurt in the production, mainly because you never hear of animals being hurt in productions any more. Even dumb horses. How much do they need to do in the show? Run around a track?
Despite the fact that I know nothing about horse racing, the show was worth investing time in. The news of two horses dying bothered me, but I tried to play ignorant. Third horse dying even after they said they'll be more responsible for the second season...yeah, it's for the best if that show is cancelled.
It's hard not to think about dead horses when watching that show, especially during the races.
Less than a million people watching an HBO production, which obviously has to be a huge production with the costs involved with trainers and horses. I'd love to think that it was because they were thinking of the animals, but there's no fucking way.
A good excuse however.
The show title doesn't seem to be very accurate.