HBO Renews 'Luck' for Second Season

Cusmano Cesaretti/HBO

"Luck"

Horse racing drama Luck is a big winner for HBO.

our editor recommends

'Luck's' David Milch: 'I Did My Best to Make It Accessible'

Luck: TV Review

The David Milch series starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte has been renewed for a second season.

PHOTOS: HBO's Premiere of 'Luck'

After drawing 3.3 million total viewers -- including replays -- for its series premiere Sunday, the premium cable network has announced the renewal two days later. The figure includes the initial 1.1 million viewers who tuned in to early preview of the drama following the Dec. 29 Boardwalk Empire season finale.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at last week's premiere party in Hollywood, creator/EP David Milch said the writers were already breaking stories for a second season and were expecting the renewal to come "within a month."

Season two will consist of 10 episodes and is slated to air January 2013.

"We couldn’t be more thrilled with the critical response to this beautiful piece of work,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said in a statement announcing the news Tuesday, “and we are very excited about where David and Michael plan to take these incredible characters.”

The early renewal was expected as the series films at Santa Anita race track and would need to schedule production between the horse racing season. Production will resume at the end of February.

The early renewal follows HBO's Game of Thrones quick pickup last year. The fantasy drama received an early second season announcement in order to accommodate its intense production demands.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit