Trivia / Luck (2011)

• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Or in this case, a "Series Ending Misdemeanor." HBO had agreed to give the series a second season very early in its run, but then quickly cancelled it after the public relations nightmare of three horses being killed on set. However, all three were purely accidental, and something HBO was trying much harder to prevent than other producers of horse-riding TV shows.
• Troubled Production: Although the horse issue was very well publicized, Richard Kind elaborated that a major cause of the collapse of the show was down to the friction between David Milch and Michael Mann. Both extremely brilliant, extremely temperamental, extremely willing to totally rewrite a scene or tear down a set at a moments notice and both men who absolutely despised each other. If it wasn't the horses dying or the ratings, HBO would never have been able to keep the show alive with two geniuses fighting each other tooth and nail. (How do you pick a side between a legendary writer or a legendary director?) Cancelling the series was essentially them cutting their losses. David Milch would go on to essentially confirm this story in his 2022 memoirs. He added that the show coincided with his near catastrophic relapse into high stakes gambling, and all involved, the network and Milch in particular, were quietly relieved the show was cancelled.

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