In 1965, Dustin Hoffman played Buddy in an episode of CBS's legal drama 'The Defenders.' It didn't cause much of a ripple. He was still an unknown, struggling actor when he landed the role of Benjamin in 'The Graduate,' a role bigger names had all turned down including Charles Grodin, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty. The point is that unlike many young actors, television did not launch the career of two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman.

But Dustin is giving TV another shot. Dustin Hoffman will star in 'Luck,' David Milch's new series for HBO. Michael Mann has also signed up to direct the pilot, and Dennis Farina and John Ortiz have been cast as well. That's a boat-load of talent and a good indication that HBO is high on the project. Presumably, Hoffman, Milch, Mann and company don't come cheap. Milch's previous work for HBO includes 'Deadwood' and 'John in Cincinatti.'

Dennis Farina is one of those actors that's good in everything he does. Even if something he does isn't that great, he will always be good in it. He's just been cast in the new HBO show 'Luck' that David Milch is producing, and the more I hear about the show the more I like it.

For one, it's a horse racing drama. You don't get many shows on television set around that world, and while I don't bet on horses or go to races it's always great to see a new world depicted on television. Second, the show is being co-produced by 'Miami Vice' veteran Michael Mann. Farina has been working with Mann since 1981's 'Thief' (Farina is an ex-cop and became an actor on that movie), including the lead in the great 80s series 'Crime Story.'

Farina was also great in 'Buddy Faro.' Remember that show? Another cool series gone way too soon.

'ER's' David Lyons, Shane West and Laura Innes have each booked pilots on NBC and the CW. According to reports, Lyons will lead NBC's 'The Cape,' about an ex-cop who becomes a superhero in an attempt to fix his reputation and reunite with his son. Over at the CW, West will join Maggie Q in the upcoming reboot of 'Nikita,' while Innes will create an 'Event' at NBC, playing the head of the inmates at a "secret facility." [Hollywood Reporter]

More casting news after the jump.

The Law and Order actor was charged with three counts of carrying a loaded weapon. All charges come from his May arrest when he was detained by airport security while trying to board a plane. The former police offer of nearly twenty years tried to get by security with a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his briefcase. Farina is looking at up to two and half years in jail and $3,000 in fines if he's convicted on all three misdemeanors. The first count is carrying a weapon in a secured area. The second is possession of a concealed weapon. And the third is possession of a loaded weapon in a public place.

However, the LA county District Attorney is not charging the 64 year-old actor with a felony which would have carried more serious punishment and a larger fine. A spokesman for the DA explained that the office felt a misdemeanor was appropriate.

About the arrest Dennis Farina has said, "It is my own stupidity to find myself in this embarrassing situation."

Dennis Farina was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for carrying a firearm through airport security. The Law and Order star was described as "apologetic and cooperative" about the incident. He was released on a $25,000 bond.

Farina, 64, entered acting after serving as a Chicago police officer for twenty years. He is known for his detective roles in movies such as Get Shorty and Sidewalks of New York and on television most notably as Detective Joe Fontana on Law and Order.

The actor had just driven to Los Angeles from Arizona with his .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his briefcase. He was scheduled to take a United Airlines flight home to Chicago.

There are all sorts of media reports swirling around lately that NBC is considering canceling Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Both series are suffering from consistently low ratings and it wasn't a good sign earlier this year when NBC moved the original Law & Order to Siberia Friday nights. NBC reportedly met with L&O creator Dick Wolf earlier this week to discuss the series' futures, and both are considered "on the bubble", though Criminal Intent is more likely to see a renewal than the original Law & Order. A decision isn't expected until early next month. (SVU is safe, by the way, with its stars earning mega bucks next season)

This is the original Law & Order's 17th season and, even though it has reached legendary status as far as television series go, it is time for it to go. I think the Chevy Chase episode proved that. It feels tired and stale. There are way too many "ripped from the headlines" episodes and can anyone even keep track of who the main detectives are anymore? The series has gone through so many stars that it's getting hard to keep up. Plus, I think it became about "sexy" detectives and lawyers, rather than the original, more gritty characters played by Chris Noth, Paul Sorvino, Michael Moriarty, and Jerry Orbach.

Do you think Law & Order's time is up?

I think one of our readers made a joke about this in the comments, but now TV critic Alan Sepinwall suggests (perhaps jokingly, perhaps not) that since Leblanc is now out of a job, maybe he should be hired for Law and Order.

"Hey, McCoy...how you doin?"

That's just one of the many casting suggestions that Sepinwall makes in the wake of departures from Dennis Farina and Annie Parisse. How about Mickey Rourke, or Don Johnson, or maybe even Mario Lopez or Geena Davis?

Come on readers, you know you want to make suggestions of your own...

[via TV Tattle]

This news instantly reminded me that Dennis Farina can be really funny in a comedy. You can see the movies Out of Sight and Get Shorty for examples, or try to track down copies of this short-lived CBS show from a few years back, Buddy Faro.

Farina starred as Buddy Faro, a famous private eye who disappeared in 1978 and is found twenty years later by Faro buff and fellow P.I. Bob Jones (Frank Whaley). It's hard to describe the plot (plots aren't that important anyway, as long as the cast and writing is good) except to say that the two team up to solve cases, and Faro tries to get by as a Rat Pack-type old school guy in an Internet world. To top off the casting, Allison Smith (Kate and Allie, The West Wing) played an actress who helped the duo, and Charles Robinson (Night Court) played a character named "El Jefe."

This shows seems like a natural for DVD (a cult show, short-lived, you can fit the whole run in one set), so I hope we see it some day. There are actually several episodes that never even aired.

Unlike her appearances on Friends, Kathleen Turner will actually play a woman when she appears on tomorrow night's Law and Order. She'll play Rebecca Shane, a fancy pants defense attorney who faces off against A.D.A. Jack McCoy. She represents a privileged high school student who may or may not have killed another fellow student in desperation to graduate.

51-year-old Turner currently lives in London, where she is starring in the Edward Albee play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Apollo Theatre. She was recently quoted as saying that she's ready to move to London permanently because Americans don't appreciate older women.