Show of the week: Luck

This new ensemble drama from director Michael Mann (The Insider) and writer David Milch (Deadwood) is set in a racetrack demimonde inhabited by an assortment of grifters, gamblers, trainers, and jockeys. Dustin Hoffman provides a fine character turn as a recently freed felon who is owner-by-proxy of a potentially extraordinary horse. The strong cast also includes Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, and Jill Hennessy. Luck’s racing sequences are thrilling, and the stylized dialogue conveys both the exhilaration and the despair of gambling. Sunday, Jan. 29, at 9 p.m., HBO

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up