HBO's Luck

If, for some reason, you aren’t already eagerly anticipating David Milch’s new HBO series Luck, this recently released sneak preview should serve as a reminder why you should care. Abandoning the existential wanderings of John From Cincinnati, this Michael Mann-produced drama puts the creator of Deadwood and NYPD Blue back in the thick of another “rough racket” full of disreputable, possibly dangerous people—such as Dustin Hoffman, who makes his TV starring debut as organized crime figure Ace Bernstein, and Nick Nolte, playing a grizzled horse trainer with a shady past. This is just an early glimpse at the show (which debuts this fall) and it’s heavy on the talking from Milch and Mann, but even the teaser is imbued with the sense of epic menace and looming moral quandary that only a Milch show can provide.