Hbo

Horse racing has long withstood the deaths of its skittish, injury-prone thoroughbreds. Hollywood proved it lacks the stomach for it. HBO abruptly cancelled its racetrack drama series "Luck" this past week after three horses used in the production were injured and euthanized during 10 months of filming in the last two years. The abrupt fall of "Luck," which will end its single-season run on March 25, reveals the chasm between the racing and entertainment industries. At the track, a horse puts its life on the line so gamblers can stake $2 or more to win, place or show,...

The Weight of the Nation 8 p.m., HBO It is not a secret that obesity is an epidemic in this country. This four-part documentary, airing Monday and Tuesday and produced by HBO, the Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institute for Health, delves into why this is, what the consequences are for us as a country, and what we can do about it. Truly gripping food for thought. America's Got Talent 8 p.m., Channel 7 And by gum, Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel, and new addition Howard Stern are going to find it. Presumably they will only find this talent...

Tom Perrotta 's new novel isn't even out yet, and it's already being turned into an HBO series. Called "The Leftovers," the book, which hits shelves next month, is about a group of suburbanites left behind after the Rapture. Perrotta, who lives in Belmont, is writing the pilot for the hourlong drama and will also executive produce the show. We're optimistic. Perrotta's had good luck with adaptations of his earlier work: The big-screen versions of his books, "Election," which starred Reese Witherspoon , and "Little Children," with Kate Winslet , both turned out rather well.

Obesity, once seen as a failure of personal responsibility and lack of willpower, has been repackaged in a four-part HBO documentary airing tonight through Thursday as a complicated phenomenon that's largely resulting from societal pressures that make it far easier for us to commute by car rather than by bike and to eat McDonald's rather than steamed vegetables with tofu. We're told that 60 to 70 percent of the risk for becoming obese lies in genes inherited from our parents but that these genes don't act in a vacuum; how they're expressed depends on...

MICHAEL CLAYTON (HBO on Comcast) A slow, rich, rewarding dramatic thriller, the first film directed by screenwriter Tony Gilroy (the “Bourne’’ movies). George Clooney banks his star appeal to play a low-rent lawyer at a high-rent firm, caught up in an ugly case. The movie falls squarely and satisfyingly into a long line of New York morality plays, specifically those directed by Sidney Lumet. With Tilda Swinton. (R; runs through July 20) TY BURR ALIVE (HBO on Comcast)

Call it "guys' night in. " On Sunday, HBO begins a new programming lineup featuring a bunch of porn-using, attention-loving, curse-inventing, beer-belly-bearing dudes. Sure, these men bust each other plenty, but they always hug it out -- with conspicuous non sexual back pats, of course. With Tony Soprano and his crew weakening and then departing in 2007, HBO is declaring a new demographic war on young men. This summer, from 9 to 11:30 p.m. on HBO's most valuable night, you'll find a sort of Howard Stern - flavored sundae with Vince Vaughn sprinkles on top. Look for the good ("Entourage")

Several hours after CBS said it is pulling the plug on “Two and a Half Men,’’ its star, Charlie Sheen , said he’s in talks with HBO about a new show — only to have HBO shoot down the claim. The morning after the radio rant that led CBS to cancel TV’s most popular sitcom, Sheen told celebrity website TMZ.com that he has had a $5 million-per-episode HBO show in the works. HBO, however, said there is “no truth to the report.’’ Sheen’s recent misadventures have included wild partying, three hospitalizations, a stint in rehab, and a divorce filing from his third...

HBO's Internet streaming service, which gives subscribers access to its shows on PCs, smartphones and tablets, is going back to where it all started: the TV. HBO Go will be available on Roku Inc.'s Internet set-top boxes at the end of this month, HBO and Roku said Tuesday. The boxes, which start at $50, connect to a broadband line and display movies and TV shows from sources such as Netflix and Hulu on a TV set. As before, HBO Go is only available for free to those who have a conventional cable subscription to HBO, a unit of Time Warner Inc. Not all cable...

The horseracing series "Luck" was canceled by HBO after a third thoroughbred died during production of the drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, the channel said Wednesday. "Luck," about the seedier side of racing, will air the final two episodes of its first season now in progress, HBO said. But the series won't return for the second season that began production last month, it said. "While we maintained the highest safety standards possible, accidents unfortunately happen and it is impossible to guarantee they won't in the future," the...

"Veep" is getting a second term on HBO, as is the comedy "Girls. " The pay cable network announced Monday that both of the comedies, which debuted this spring, will get second seasons. HBO ordered 10-episode seasons for both of them. "Girls" has been the recipient of some rapturous reviews. It was created by Lena Dunham, who stars as one of four young women in an up-to-date coming-of-age story based in New York City. Reviews for "Veep" were more mixed, but the star power of Julia Louis-Dreyfus initially brought in more viewers than...

While the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was certainly celebratory, tomorrow's 9 p.m. premiere of the footage on HBO will be met by a somber tone in the wake of today's news that Beastie Boys founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch has died . The seminal rap group was immortalized at the musical shrine during the April 14 ceremony, though Yauch was reportedly too ill to attend . HBO is now planning to dedicate the show to...

"Veep" is getting a second term on HBO, as is the comedy "Girls. " The pay cable network announced Monday that both of the comedies, which debuted this spring, will get second seasons. HBO ordered 10-episode seasons for both of them. "Girls" has been the recipient of some rapturous reviews. It was created by Lena Dunham, who stars as one of four young women in an up-to-date coming-of-age story based in New York City. Reviews for "Veep" were more mixed, but the star power of Julia Louis-Dreyfus initially brought in more viewers than "Girls.

Girls 10:30 p.m., HBO STD?! (HPV.) Nurse Jackie 9 p.m., Showtime RN in AA Veep 10 p.m., HBO V.P. 911 GCB 10 p.m., Channel 5 LOL @ TX The Amazing Race 8 p.m., Channel 4 BYOB(indi)

HBO is producing a documentary on the first President George Bush to debut two days after his 88th birthday in June. Titled "41," the film about the 41st president is being produced by Jerry Weintraub, a friend of the Bush family and himself the subject of "My Way," another HBO documentary. Jeffrey Roth, who made "The Wonder of It All" about Apollo moon walkers, is directing and writing the film. It was made between September 2009 and February 2011. HBO said Friday that Bush, father of the 43rd president, shares anecdotes about his youth, various jobs and term as president...

Fictional television politicians tend to fall into one of two categories: noble or nefarious. The former category includes the likes of the folksy President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) of "The West Wing," and a recent example of the latter, Kelsey Grammer's Mayor Tom Kane, will be chewing his way through the Chicago skyline in a second season of the often-riveting Starz drama "Boss" in August. What you rarely see, and what makes HBO's new series "Veep," premiering Sunday at 10 p.m., such a treat, are politicians as regular people.

The Simpsons 8 p.m., Channel 25 Does this mean Springfield is near "Portlandia"? Shahs of Sunset 10 p.m., Bravo The sun sets on the shahs' first season. Celebrity Apprentice 9 p.m., Channel 7 Puppets on a string. Eastbound & Down 10 p.m., HBO Can Kenny keep swimming with the Mermen? Masterpiece Classic: The Mystery of Edwin Drood9 p.m., Channel 2 Trouble with a capital O.

HBO will team with Sports Illustrated and Endgame Entertainment to produce a new sports documentary series. "Sport in America: Our Defining Stories" is a multipart series scheduled to air in 2013. Sports Illustrated will run editorial packages in conjunction with the programs. The production company Playground also will work on the series. Endgame Entertainment's James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo will be co-directors. Stern, Del Deo, Playground's Colin Callender and SI's Terry McDonell will serve as executive producers.

HBO's "Girls," premiering Sunday at 10:30 p.m., is nominally a comedy. It's a sort of angsty, indie, younger, poorer take on "Sex and the City," as we tag along in the lives of four very different 20-something female friends: type A Marnie (Alison Williams), girlishly chipper Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet), stylishly jaded, sexual free spirit Jessa (Jemima Kirke), and hot mess Hannah (creator-writer-director Lena Dunham). But there is also an element of horror at work as the bad choices, meltdowns, and humiliations made by or visited upon each member of the quartet leads to cringeworthy moments...

The much-buzzed-about Judd Apatow-produced HBO series "Girls," which comes from Lena Dunham of "Tiny Furniture" fame, doesn't premiere until April 15, but Boston University students got to see the pilot Monday. "Girls" should make sense to the university demographic considering that it focuses on a group of 20-something women trying to make sense of their post-college lives. Of course, not everyone can relate to Dunham's unique humor. Of the screening, one BU student told the campus's Daily Free Press: "It was very odd. "