The Night Of

On one late night a young man named Nasir 'Naz' Khan leaves a party with a woman he barely knows and wakes up with her dead beside him. Police quickly focus on him, and the series follows the slow, often brutal process of accusation, arrest, and arraignment. A weary, unconventional defense attorney named John Stone takes the case, and their uneasy partnership becomes the lens through which the criminal justice system is shown, from police questioning to courtroom maneuvering. The story keeps its attention on procedure and consequence rather than twists, showing how a single night can upend lives and how uncertainty, prejudice, and media pressure shape what counts as truth.

Created by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, the eight-episode HBO limited series premiered in 2016, featuring Riz Ahmed and John Turturro in the leading roles, and blending procedural detail with character-driven scenes.

The show earned widespread awards attention, receiving multiple major nominations across television ceremonies, and it helped raise the profile of its lead actors and its creative team, especially for performances and writing.

Its portrayal of a suspect under intense scrutiny sparked public discussion about policing, pretrial detention, and how race and class affect legal outcomes. Scenes of police interviews and the grim realities of holding cells became reference points in wider conversations about reform and courtroom portrayal in popular media.

Critics generally praised the series for detailed realism and strong performances, reflected in its near 8.0 user vote average. Themes include the fallibility of evidence, the human cost of legal processes, and the gap between public perception and legal reality. The Night Of stays focused on how institutions respond to crime, showing that outcomes often hinge on luck, representation, and the limits of the system rather than clear moral answers.