Although I have never seen the British version of this series, "The Syndicate", and I have heard rave reviews, I was pleasantly surprised with this show and was sorry to see it was canceled so quickly. It offers a cast of relatively unknown "fresh" faces which is very welcome in a series like this. The actors and producers did a good job on this show at a time where it seems like networks are often quick to jump on the bandwagon for what else is currently considered a hit, whether it be a fantasy, western, crime drama, etc. It is nice to see a story line that has not been recreated on multiple TV shows. I am also continually disappointed with good shows being canceled after such a short period of time. I almost never watch live TV anymore, but rather catch shows online or on the DVR so my viewings aren't even counted. Have we not learned anything from shows like Arrested Development which were prematurely canceled? Why a show like this gets canceled while another one remains on air solely because of star names or time slot is beyond me. I would rather watch a good show with a lesser known cast than a bad show with a celebrity lineup. I hope they realize they made a mistake and bring the show back or at the very least offer the remaining 5 episodes already in the can for streaming....

I just looked up three episodes of The Syndicate's second season on Youtube and even tho it isn't the same characters, undeniably The Syndicate emerged a better show, so why did the American Lucky 7 bomb? For starters, the show had virtually no publicity promotion and was buried on Tuesday night. I got to see the second episode before it was cancelled and quite honestly, it really seemed more like it could have been on an hour earlier.The deal is, even tho I haven't seen the first season of The Syndicate, that I can take a wild shot in the dark this Americanized version was going to be whittled to bits, polished up to quite honestly make the characters likable, whereas the English version, they were very flawed characters.In the second season, a lottery winner was an abused wife who couldn't leave her abusive husband. She wasn't strong enough. Someone else actually had to give her the out.Had this gotten the American treatment, she would have suddenly had the nerve, or more likely, she would have already put him out before she won the money, so she could be strong without the cash, then he comes back and she gets to tell him off that way.This is Hollywood's problem; too much soapboxing.What was seen of this second episode, with the two brothers, the one who didn't hit the other fellow, HE's feeling guilty. He would only be an accessory, but he's guilty! "I don't know, how can I look my kids in the face?" So the guy who was mugged, while he's in the hospital, it's learned he has a brain tumor. Now had he NOT been mugged, this would have never been discovered, so he is GRATEFUL to the mugger! The brother who committed the mugging, he smiles and tells his brother they are homefree. They did a good thing."I don't know." Come on, dude, take a side! This is the American touch, too overly moralistic.After watching what I did see of the second season of The Syndicate, I can only guess who the first season was handled.Lucky 7 must look like nothing more than a rough draft, an outline of the much more complete Syndicate.Unfortunately, I got to say, Lucky 7 deserved cancellation.

The people at a small convenient store suddenly become millionaires after winning the lottery. Bob Harris (Isiah Whitlock Jr) got knocked out when the Korzak brothers (Stephen Louis Grush, Matt Long) schemed to rob the store. Samira Lashari (Summer Bishil) is trying to live her life without her old fashion father. Denise Dibinksy (Lorraine Bruce) has a slob of a husband. Leanne Maxwell (Anastasia Phillips) is a single mother with a secret. Antonio Clemente (Luis Antonio Ramos) got left out of the lottery.The pilot episode was absolutely awful. It was a complete mess. There was no need for it. The second episode was much better, but the damage was already done. ABC canceled it after only 2 episodes.The characters have some unlikeability problems, and the actors are all unknowns. This didn't really have a chance. They didn't really need to copy a British show. They already tried a lottery show back in 2006 and it didn't last much longer than this one. And back then the TV landscape wasn't as fractured.

This was without doubt the worst TV pilot I have ever seen and I turned it off after 1/2 an hour which is 25 minutes longer than I should have watched it but I kept thinking it has to get better. This show has nothing that would appeal to anyone unless they were on drugs: unattractive cast, lousy acting, lousy directing, cliché story-line. Whoever green lighted this should be blacklisted from the entertainment industry and investigated. I still am in shock that someone would green-light a TV Series and Pilot this bad.As an aside to show you how ridiculous IMDb is and how IMDb ratings are phony and useless, a bunch of paid shills must have voted this a 7.5