Strange Luck
title: "Strange Luck" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1990s-american-drama-television-series", "1995-american-television-series-debuts", "1996-american-television-series-endings", "television-series-by-new-world-television", "television-shows-set-in-missouri", "fox-broadcasting-company-television-dramas", "television-shows-scored-by-mark-mothersbaugh"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Luck" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Strange Luck.jpg |
| runtime | 45 minutes |
| creator | Karl Schaefer |
| starring | D. B. Sweeney |
| Pamela Gidley | |
| Cynthia Martells | |
| Frances Fisher | |
| composer | Mark Mothersbaugh |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| company | MT2 Services |
| Unreality, Inc. | |
| New World Entertainment | |
| network | Fox |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| num_seasons | 1 |
| num_episodes | 17 |
| :: |
| image = Strange Luck.jpg | caption = | runtime = 45 minutes | creator = Karl Schaefer | starring = D. B. Sweeney Pamela Gidley Cynthia Martells Frances Fisher | composer = Mark Mothersbaugh | country = United States | language = English | company = MT2 Services Unreality, Inc. New World Entertainment | network = Fox | first_aired = | last_aired = | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 17 | list_episodes =
Strange Luck is an American television series that aired on Fox, created by Karl Schaefer and starring D. B. Sweeney in the role of Chance Harper who constantly stumbles into unusual situations. The series aired on Fox from 1995 to 1996. A total of seventeen episodes were aired before the show was canceled due to low ratings. Reruns were shown briefly on the Sci Fi Channel in 1997. The series was initially slotted as a lead-in to The X-Files on Friday nights, and was largely shot in Canada like the show which followed it.
Plot
Chance Harper, a freelance photographer, is afflicted with a bizarre tendency to always be in the wrong place at the right time. As Chance himself says, "If I go to a restaurant, somebody chokes. If I walk into a bank, it gets robbed." Harper's strange luck began when, as a small child, he was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed everyone else aboard, including his mother and sister.
Cast
- D. B. Sweeney as Chance Harper
- Pamela Gidley as Audrey Westin
- Cynthia Martells as Dr. Richter
- Frances Fisher as Angie
- Drew Monroe as Spirit
- Scott Plank as Arthur Vandenberg
Production
Casting
D. B. Sweeney had been primarily a film actor before taking the role of Chance Harper. He did so because he had a series of unsuccessful low-budget films and decided to try his hand at television. He commented that "Fox has spent more time and money and effort promoting me and this show than all of my movies put together"
Episodes
|EpisodeNumber=1 |Title=Soul Survivor |DirectedBy=David Carson |WrittenBy=Karl Schaefer |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=2 |Title=Over Exposure |DirectedBy=David Jackson |WrittenBy=John J. Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=3 |Title=Last Chance |DirectedBy=Ralph Hemecker |WrittenBy=Michael Cassutt |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=4 |Title=She Was |DirectedBy=Elodie Keene |WrittenBy=Karl Schaefer |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=5 |Title=Blind Man's Bluff |DirectedBy=John McPherson |WrittenBy=Melinda M. Snodgrass |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=6 |Title=Angie's Turn |DirectedBy=Greg Beeman |WrittenBy=Cathryn Michon |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=7 |Title=Hat Trick |DirectedBy=Martha Mitchell |WrittenBy=Matt Dearborn |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=8 |Title=The Liver Wild |DirectedBy=David Jackson |WrittenBy=John J. Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=9 |Title=Walk Away |DirectedBy=James Whitmore Jr. |WrittenBy=Page Turner |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=10 |Title=The Box |DirectedBy=John T. Kretchmer |WrittenBy=Michael Cassutt |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=11 |Title=Brothers Grim |DirectedBy=Greg Beeman |WrittenBy=John J. Sakmar & Kerry Lenhart |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=12 |Title=Trial Period |DirectedBy=David Jackson |WrittenBy=Matt Dearborn |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=13 |Title=Healing Hands |DirectedBy=John T. Kretchmer |WrittenBy=Scott Smith Miller |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=14 |Title=Wrong Number |DirectedBy=Mark Sobel |WrittenBy=Michael Cassutt |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=15 |Title=In Sickness and in Wealth |DirectedBy=Scott Brazil |WrittenBy=Babs Greyhosky |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=16 |Title=Blinded by the Son |DirectedBy=Jim Charleston |WrittenBy=Andy Hedden & Rob Hedden |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor= |EpisodeNumber=17 |Title=Struck by Lighting |DirectedBy=Brad Turner |WrittenBy=Eric Overmyer |OriginalAirDate= |ShortSummary= |LineColor=
Awards
::data[format=table]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated artist/work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series | Andrew Spencer Dawson (supervising editor), Stacey Nakasone (dialogue editor), Rich Cusano (sound effects editor), Richard Webb (sound effects editor) | |
| For episode "The Liver Wild". | ||||
| :: |
References
References
- [https://variety.com/1995/tv/reviews/strange-luck-1200442951/ Lowe, Kinsey. Strange Luck] www.variety.com September 11, 1995
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1995/10/22/film-actor-tries-strange-luck/ecd55003-12b2-4d0c-a21e-91d21a9cf2c3/ Washington Post: Film Actor Tries "Strange Luck"]
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