HBO's The Night Of
HBO's miniseries The Night Of, starring John Turturro and Riz Ahmed is the next big drama everyone will be talking about.
The premise is simple. A young man named Nasir (Riz Ahmed) borrows his fathers taxi only to accidentally pick up an attractive lady. After an uncharacteristic night of drugs and sex, he wakes up to find her stabbed to death. Nasir is eventually arrested, denied bail and must fight for his life with his shady lawyer, Jack Stone (John Turturro) who believes deep down that Nasir could never have committed this terrible crime, despite all evidence pointing back to him.
It's a classic case of did he do it and if not, who and why?
For those who are a fan of the wire, you will definitely enjoy watching Michael K. Williams (Omar from the Wire) playing inmate Freddy who owns and controls the prison. Freddy takes Nasir under his wings only to eventually corrupt and change him into a dark twisted man. This transformation showcases Riz's acting chops and will surely put him on the contender list for best actor.
What you should know is that this is a remake of the British miniseries Criminal Justice. Don't let the work "remake" scare you. It's better in every way possible. While the original miniseries glossed over a lot, the retelling delves much deeper into the characters, the crime and the entire justice ecosystem.
The background of this series is just as interesting as the story itself. HBO picked up the rights with the intent to use James Gandolfini to star as the leading lawyer Jack Stone. Upon Gandolfini's passing, Robert DeNiro was set to star but encountered scheduling issues. Enter John Turturro. I could not imagine anyone playing a better lawyer with his own demons to deal with who is relatable, liked and at moments cringe worthy in a good way.
Having watched 7 of the 8 episodes I can safely tell you that this is not a nice to watch show. Its a must watch show!
If you don't want to wait for the premiere on July 10th at 9pm you can watch the 1st episode now on HBOgo, HBO Now, or if in Canada on TMNGO and on demand.