The Night Of

The first episode of this HBO miniseries created by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian and acclaimed author Richard Price plunges the audience into the ordeal of Nasir "Naz" Khan (Riz Ahmed), a nerdy first-generation Pakistani-American college student/tutor in New York City. Naz's attempt to party with the popular crowd ends up in a wild night of drugs, sex, and the violent murder of his date, after which he panics and flees. Arrested and charged with the killing, Naz begins his long, grueling ordeal in the justice system. John Turturro is the bottom-feeding lawyer who assumes that Naz is just another kid jailed on a minor charge when he offers to represent him—only to find himself in the midst of a huge murder trial. Bill Camp is the old-school police detective who puts the case together piece by piece, convinced that the accumulation of evidence has put the right man on trial. Part procedural, part character piece, part dark drama of an innocent young man pronounced guilty by the press and transformed by his ordeal in a violent prison, The Night Of is a crime drama with the depth and detail of a novel. This isn't about a miscarriage of justice—the prosecution is presented with as much respect and honorable intentions as the defense—but rather about how the slow gears of justice grind up those who are caught in its wheels. Compiling all eight episodes from 2016, this intelligently written miniseries featuring superb performances is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)