TV
Night Of, The (HBO 2016, John Turturro, Riz Ahmed)
In The Night Of… Pakistani-American college student Nasir “Naz” Khan, who lives with his parents in Queens, NY, takes his father’s taxi to go a party in Manhattan. But what starts as a perfect night for Naz becomes a nightmare when he’s arrested for murder.
The series delves into the intricacies of a complex New York City murder case with cultural and political overtones. The story examines the police investigation, the legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and Rikers Island, where the accused await trial. “It’s a crime story, a police story, a legal story, a corrections story,” observes Zaillian. “You make a story about all that, tell it honestly, and it will naturally be a social story.”
The Night Of… is based on UK drama serial Criminal Justice which was written by Peter Moffat and aired in 2008. This version is a co-production between the BBC and HBO. HBO ordered a pilot in 2013 that was to have starred James Gandolfini but the network then passed on making a series, they then changed their mind and decided to go ahead with a series, sadly Gandolfini had died. Initial reports suggested Robert De Niro would take his place but scheduling conflicts meant that John Turturro took the role. In a nice tribute Gandolfini is still given an executive producer credit. Riz Ahmed as Nasir Khan
production details
USA / HBO – BBC Worldwide – Film Rites / 8×60 minute episodes / Broadcast from 10 July 2016
Creators: Richard Price, Steven Zaillian from the BBC series Criminal Justice written by Peter Moffat / Music: Jeff Russo / Executive Producers: Steven Zaillian, Richard Price, Peter Moffatt, Jane Tranter, Garrett Basch, James Gandolfini
cast
John Turturro as Jack Stone, a lawyer
Riz Ahmed as Nasir Khan
Bill Camp as Dennis Box, a detective
Peyman Moaadi as Salim Khan
Poorna Jagannathan as Safar Khan
Sofia Black D’Elia as Andrea
Frank L. Ridley as Jerry
Glenne Headly as Alison
Jeannie Berlin as Helen
Amara Karan as Chandra
Michael K. Williams as Freddy
Jeff Wincott as Detective Lucas
David Chen as Inmate
Ariya Ghahramani as Amir Farik
Ben Shenkman as Sgt. Klein
Syam Lafi as Hasan Khan
Max Casella as Edgar
Chip Zien as Dr. Katz
Paul Sparks as Don Taylor
J. D. Williams as Trevor William