By Dean Robbins

‘Luck’ struggles to be a good show about bad people

HBO specializes in making appealing shows about unappealing men, like Tony in “The Sopranos” or Nucky Thompson in “Boardwalk Empire.” “Luck” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) is the latest attempt — a racetrack tale of crooks (Dustin Hoffman), horse owners (Nick Nolte) and assorted gamblers.

The talent on board is impressive, from Hoffman and Nolte to filmmakers Michael Mann (“The Insider”) and David Milch (“Hill Street Blues”). But in the pilot, they can’t get us to care about these awful people. The large cast of character actors don’t do much other than coarsely insult one another, while Nolte and Hoffman compete to see who can deliver lines in the gruffest voice. Director Mann and writer Milch concern themselves more with the show’s look and mood than with a compelling narrative. So when the big races come, we couldn’t care less about who wins.

Here’s hoping “Luck” can find better ways to be unappealing over the course of its nine-episode season.

‘Face Off’

Wednesday, 9 p.m. (SyFy)

“Face Off” is a refreshing change of pace from “Project Runway,” “Top Chef” and other reality series where contestants try to make beautiful things. Here, special-effects makeup artists compete to make the sickest mutant or the grossest vampire. When asked to “show us who you really are as an artist,” one guy wows the judges by creating a zombie biker chick with icky green skin, bloody teeth and her boyfriend’s skull in her helmet.

I’m glad the character wasn’t created in response to “show us who you really are as a person.” Because that would be frightening. CV