Luck: Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 29, 2012
  • Season #: 1 , 2
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    Jan 27, 2012
    100
    With an impossibly good cast, writing so spot-on it's poetic, and slow-build stories, I, for one, was left wanting more--even after watching the entire season.
  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Jan 27, 2012
    100
    "Deadwood" fans already know that Milch doesn't make it easy for viewers to get a purchase on his series, but for those willing to do the work, Luck, pays off.
  3. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    Jan 26, 2012
    100
    There are three excellent reasons--Milch, Mann and Hoffman--why your faith will be rewarded.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Jan 30, 2012
    91
    I suspect Luck will need its own kind of good fortune to persuade HBO Subscribers to get on its wavelength--to go with the undulating rhythm of its storytelling. But it's worth the effort. [3/10 Feb 2012, p.104]
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  5. Hitfix
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    Jan 25, 2012
    91
    It's clear and engaging and moving to this novice.
  6. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Phillip Maciak
    Jan 27, 2012
    88
    Asking viewers to simply look his characters in the eye, Milch has created an infuriatingly but genuinely moving drama.
  7. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Jan 19, 2012
    88
    Luck is a true original, a show with a tone like no other. [30 Jan 2012, p.43]
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  8. Uncle Barky
    Reviewed by: Ed Bark
    Jan 27, 2012
    83
    You should give Luck a chance to slowly pay off. It proudly depicts a gritty/picturesque world that the ABC Family channel's Wildfire only airbrushed during its 2005-08 run.
  9. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Jan 26, 2012
    83
    With Milch holding the reins, Luck seems a lock for the winner's circle.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Jacklpuzo
    10
    I don't like horseracing. It's boring, in my opinion. I loved Luck. Brilliant cast, brilliant writing and cinematography. I saw the pilot a while back so that's why I'm reviewing now. I definiely recommend it to everyone. People who like horseracing and to those who don't.… Full Review »
  2. JennetP
    10
    Okay, here's what we can conclude from the reviews of "Luck." Critics are getting dumber. If a TV series doesn't make every little thing clear at first glance, they get mad and call it "impenetrable." Had they reviewed "Hamlet" in 1601, they would have complained about the "impenetrability" of the ghost. Critics also seem to believe that narrative momentum trumps all other dramatic qualities. If the plot doesn't flat-out gallop like a speed horse running wire to wire (sorry), then the show fails. Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times writes that "Luck," like "Treme" (!) sacrifices excitement to "lofty intentions and a certain snobbery," by which she means the effort to create a rich and vibrant sense of place. If that's snobbery, then call me Thurston P. Howell III, because I enjoy the sense of being immersed in a new culture or subculture, and few shows do that well. As for users, we fall into two categories. Those literate enough to write reviews celebrate "Luck" and understand it much more deeply than the critics. Those who have strong opinions but don't express them in words are much less enthusiastic, putting "Luck" behind "Spartacus: Vengeance" in the user polls. I suspect that the critics and the numbers-only users are more alike than different and that, if Metacritic really wanted to offer viewers a useful index of quality, it would publish three numbers: the critics' average, the user-raters' average, and the user-reviewers' average. A long shot, I know. Anyway, "Luck" is superb, a smoldering masterpiece in which, like gamblers studying their environment for signs, viewers accept that their knowledge will always be partial because the underlying reality is mysterious and immense. That is why many of the characters are so circumspect, their acting so restrained, and it's a good--no, a great--thing. The opening credits tell viewers exactly what to expect and how to approach it, from the banked fire of Massive Attack's theme song to the subtle sequence of images: some partial, some barely focused, many deceptively simple. Pay attention. Be patient. Don't assume a fire is dead just because you don't see flame. Oh, and because everyone else is confessing, I DO love horse-racing and could handicap like a champ when I still had my baby fat. "Luck" doesn't get every detail of racing right, but it gets what matters, and it is one of a very few shows today that rise to the level of art.… Full Review »
  3. jonh
    10
    Quirky, understated, and original, like nothing else I've seen in a while. I'd watch it just for the gorgeous shots of the horses (and I am not a horse-racing fan at all). This drew me in, in a big way.… Full Review »
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