8 reasons why a movie or TV show should never have ‘Lucky’ in the title

Fall TV has just begun for the season, but already, a network has announced its first cancellation of the year. That great honor goes to the ABC series “Lucky 7,” which lasted only two episodes. Whoops. You’re probably thinking that the title seems a little ironic, but really, ABC should have known better. Never, ever put “Lucky” in your title!

It’s the unluckiest thing you can do. Here are 8 reasons why the, um, other L-word should be banned from titles from here on out:

1. “Lucky 7”

As mentioned, ABC’s “Lucky 7” was canceled after a mere two episodes. The show was a remake of a British series and followed a group of working class Queens residents who cashed-in big on the lottery. And judging by the print ads, it looks like it was also about the 7 Train.

2. “Lucky Numbers”

“Lucky Numbers,” which came out in 2000, was directed by Nora Ephron and starred John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow. The movie cost $63 million to make but grossed only about $11 million, which makes its plotline about lottery fraud seem like a much better money-making idea.

3. “Luck” 

Also known as the “Dustin Hoffman dead horse show,” HBO’s “Luck” was canceled during its first season because three horsies kicked the bucket during production. Dustin plays a former mobster who moved on to horse racing, and the series was created by David Milch. Ah, what could have been had the show not turned into a glue factory.

4. “Lucky Louie”

Before there was the acclaimed “Louie” on FX, there was the embarrassing “Lucky Louie” on HBO, Louis C.K.’s first attempt at turning his life into a TV series. The show lasted only one season and contained zero Emmy-winning cameos by Melissa Leo.

5. “Lucky” (film)

Oh, so you haven’t heard of a Colin Hanks movie from 2011 called “Lucky”? Well it’s about a man who wins the lottery, gets married, and is discovered to be a serial killer whose victims all look exactly like his wife. Now, don’t you wish you still hadn’t heard of it?

6. “Lucky” (TV)

The second thing called “Lucky” that you’ve probably never heard of was an FX series from 2003 that starred John Corbett as a gambling addict. Although “Lucky” landed an Emmy nom for its writing, the show lasted only one season.

7. “The Lucky One”

Although “The Lucky One,” an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks book about a soldier who tries to track down a woman he saw in a photograph, was a success at the box office, some people consider it the point Zac Efron’s career began to go downhill. Other people mark that point as the start of Zac Efron’s career.

8. “Lucky Number Slevin”

Besides having a title that annoys the everloving heck out of me, “Lucky Number Slevin” was a box office dud. The flick stars Josh Harnett, Morgan Freeman, and Bruce Willis, and is about crime lords and hitmen. Or something. I cannot get past that dumb, stupid title.

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