On July 10th 2016, HBO premiered one of the darkest and gripping TV shows since AMC’s Breaking Bad. The Night Of is a limited series on HBO that follows a young Pakistani-American college student named Nasir Khan living in Queens, New York. While taking his father’s cab one night to go to a party, he ends up getting lost and picking up a young women, Andrea. They share a special connection so then ensues a night of romance and drugs. After falling asleep he wakes up to Andrea brutally stabbed to death, and that begins what will surely go from the best night of his life to his worst.
Being that Nasir is American born Pakistani the show presents many political and social undertones throughout each episode. The show is engulfed in this extremely dark atmosphere that is presented by the brilliant cinematography and has a stunning musical score that matches the darkness of the show perfectly. How the show is put together definitely keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat, never quite knowing what’s going to happen next. They set the tone in the series premiere. They did a very nice job in the first episode driving the narrative in almost an instrumental way from beginning to end, showing Nasir leaving the scene of the crime and the unexpected events that led to his capture
The director Steve Zaillian who has been involved in acclaimed projects such as Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, and Moneyball does a great job making every shot have its own unique perspective that keeps it fresh for the viewer. The plot if fascinating in that the viewer doesn’t really know what happened, making them think to draw up their own conclusions to raise the anticipation level once the series finally reaches its climax.
A lot of the show does has to do with our criminal justice system, they give you a very detailed and honest interpretation of what happens when a person gets arrested on a homicide case, or even go to prison and await trial. The show is successfully conveying how the judicial system may sometimes be flawed and sending a potentially innocent person to prison for months and months may actually turn them into a criminal.
The ensemble cast is another thing to be admired on the show. Not knowing who actually committed the murder makes you respect both the defense and the prosecution. Nasir’s defense lawyer John Stone played by John Turturro is an absolute scene stealer. He is not the most well looked upon lawyer, but he has the sense of savvy and street smarts about him that make the audience root for him. He also has one of the most interesting sub plots I’ve seen in a TV show, having Eczema severely around his feet and the remedies that he tries to do brings in some needed comedic relief to what otherwise is a very dark and intense show.
The Night Of is a show demanding to be a TV show that is highly anticipated every week, with leaving viewers wondering what will happen next throughout the entire week. The story takes many twist and turns that keeps the audience guessing.