The Night Of

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 10, 2016
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 522 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 478 out of 522
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 522
  3. Negative: 22 out of 522
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User Reviews

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  1. jlplatten
    Aug 15, 2016
    3
    I have to change my grade from a 10, because the show has completely morphed into a political commentary with a huge left wing bias. It has gotten so bad that their agenda had totally ruined our main character, and now he's making the dumbest decisions while he's fighting for his life in court. Innocent kid tattooing SIN on his knuckles? Does he want to stay in jail? Whatever. The creatorsI have to change my grade from a 10, because the show has completely morphed into a political commentary with a huge left wing bias. It has gotten so bad that their agenda had totally ruined our main character, and now he's making the dumbest decisions while he's fighting for his life in court. Innocent kid tattooing SIN on his knuckles? Does he want to stay in jail? Whatever. The creators know how to make a great show, but their politics have completely destroyed the characters. I thought this was going to be a murder mystery. Nope. It's a show about prison.… Expand
  2. FilmSnob
    Sep 1, 2016
    2
    There are similarities between The Night Of's premise and the Andan Sayed case made so popular on the podcast Serial but the tv series is not anywhere near as gripping. The first episode had a number of holes but I soldiered on, binge watching the entire series wondering what I was missing since this show rated so highly on Metacritic but I was so so sorely disappointed. The cat, theThere are similarities between The Night Of's premise and the Andan Sayed case made so popular on the podcast Serial but the tv series is not anywhere near as gripping. The first episode had a number of holes but I soldiered on, binge watching the entire series wondering what I was missing since this show rated so highly on Metacritic but I was so so sorely disappointed. The cat, the eczema, the inappropriate and unnecessary sexual exploits, the sloppy rendering of police and judicial procedure, the melodramatic pacing, and the one dimensional characters made even the great John Turturro's acting woefully inadequate to bring this drama 'justice'. There is no rhyme or reason why this badly written script should have been permitted to go to film. Do not waste your time hoping it gets better.… Expand
  3. RPGmax
    Aug 16, 2016
    0
    The first two episodes looked promising, had I only watched those episodes I would have rated this 10, but the recent episodes are ludicrous. I mean the subplot of john stones eczema condition is getting out of hand, too much focus is given for that. Moreover, Nazis transition into a tough guy in an extremely short period seems unrealistic. Anyway, I won't be watching this again.
  4. GOUYFu6rfou67f
    Jul 26, 2016
    3
    From the existing reviews, I expected big things - I don't thing I've ever been so disappointed by a show I've looked up on MetaCritic. For anyone with half a brain, the entire plot is completely predictable from very early on.The entire 120 minute first episode could have been wrapped up in less than half the time. I gave up after 50 minutes and skipped through the rest, it went exactlyFrom the existing reviews, I expected big things - I don't thing I've ever been so disappointed by a show I've looked up on MetaCritic. For anyone with half a brain, the entire plot is completely predictable from very early on.The entire 120 minute first episode could have been wrapped up in less than half the time. I gave up after 50 minutes and skipped through the rest, it went exactly as I thought it would. Very dull, I will not be watching more.… Expand
  5. Gmart
    Sep 3, 2016
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was encouraged by the reviews, started watching with my wife, and the first woman character is some form of mysterious, one-dimensional character there to represent a beauty beyond his imagining but who turns out to insist he stabs her!! Introducing needless violence into a perfectly fine drama up to that point. No imagination or realism there just mindless. How am I supposed to get past that? - hardly realistic is it? - i was expecting an embarrassing night of non-violence, maybe I am not the market any more *sigh*… Expand
  6. bob516
    Dec 26, 2016
    0
    Very stylish, but that is about where it ended for me. I knew from the beginning that Naz was going to be charged with the crime, so why did the first episode spend so much time creating moments when it looked like the patrol officers that stopped him let him off, walk away scot free from the crime scene, or walk out of the police station with no one noticing. Seems like poor, lazyVery stylish, but that is about where it ended for me. I knew from the beginning that Naz was going to be charged with the crime, so why did the first episode spend so much time creating moments when it looked like the patrol officers that stopped him let him off, walk away scot free from the crime scene, or walk out of the police station with no one noticing. Seems like poor, lazy writing to me, and it only got worse. I pushed through the first episode, and tried to get through the second, but gave up half way.

    I sure hope the deer head hanging on the wall had some meaning later on, otherwise it was pretentious b.s.    … Expand
  7. EstebanD
    Jan 9, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First, if not a disclaimer, at least a mea culpa. I’ve been a Richard Price fan for many decades, having read The Wanderers upon its original release in 1974. Thus, the criticism I offer now is born of disappointment, not closely-held malice. The Night Of, Price’s relatively recent HBO miniseries, so fails any standard of authenticity, I suspect that its creators held their viewers in literal contempt. I could begin with the two zhlubs (superb actors both) cast as prosecutor and defense attorney. Their like is not to be found in a New York City courtroom. And that’s especially true of prosecutors assigned to high-profile murder trials. These trials, by the way, are not conducted in what appears to be the back room of a Long Island City warehouse. Price had to know this.
    Most commonly, in works of this type, we know if the accused is guilty. Not here. The allure of The Night Of rests on our not being sure. We want to believe in Nasir Khan’s innocence, but the evidence compiled by the prosecution is so overwhelming that his first lawyer recommends he accept a deal. He’ll plead guilty to the crime of manslaughter and pass the next fifteen years in a maximum-security prison. Price works this theme to the very end. Even when the prosecution, after a hung jury, declines to re-try Naz, we’re still not sure that he’s innocent. (Just as an aside, Price’s A.D.A makes this decision a few minutes after the jury returns. No prosecutor has this power. In a high-profile murder case, the District Attorney would make the final decision after weighing all the political implications.)
    Here’s the bad news. Naz’s guilt or innocence should have been established at the time of his arrest. The victim was stabbed more than twenty times. Each time a bloody knife rises and falls, drops of blood are released. These drops, when they strike any surface, including Naz’s body and clothing, leave distinctive patterns that can easily be determined by forensic examiners. Did these patterns appear on Naz’s body and clothing? The defendant’s clothing was bagged at the time of his arrest, examination being the whole point, yet somehow the condition of his shirt and pants, his shoes and socks, wasn’t raised at his trial, not by the prosecution or the defense. There’s no wiggle room here. Andrea’s killer could no more avoid the blood thrown off by the rising and falling knife than the bed and the walls. If drops of Andrea’s blood were found on Naz’s clothes or body, he would certainly be guilty. If not, he would be as certainly innocent. The issue should have been determined, as I said, at the time of Naz’s arrest.
    I’m used to a very low level in authenticity from broadcast television. The courtroom procedure in Law and Order, for example, bore no resemblance to the procedure in a New York courtroom. In fact, it was only slightly more authentic than the flying forensics in a typical CSI episode. But that’s cool. As I’ve already said, my expectations, when it comes to broadcast television, are minimal at best. I expected more, however, from HBO, and especially from Ricard Price. I find his performance disappointing, of course, but not as disappointing as the terrific ratings this show garnered on websites like Rotten Tomatoes. I read many of the reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes, enough to be sure their authors hadn’t spotted this very obvious hole in The Night Of’s plot. Did Price and his partner, Steven Zaillian, cynically exploit viewer ignorance? Maybe I’m being too harsh. Maybe not. But Richard Price has put more than four decades of his life into the crime-and-punishment game. He could not have missed something as obviously important as the defendant’s body and clothing. The omission had to be deliberate. More the shame in that.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best TV Season of 2016
14
#14 Most Discussed TV Season of 2016
21
#21 Most Shared TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. The Lincoln Journal Star
    Reviewed by: Jeff Korbelik
    Jul 11, 2016
    100
    The wide-eyed Ahmed is perfect as the naive young man who can’t seem to make a right decision. That is until he agrees to let Turturro’s Jack Stone help him. And Turturro hits the right notes as the cynical attorney who has his work cut out for him.
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  2. The Daily Beast
    Reviewed by: Marlow Stern
    Jul 11, 2016
    90
    Though its title screams Christmas flick, HBO’s absorbing new miniseries is a pitch-black procedural that combines the system-is-broken outrage of Making a Murderer, the menacing atmosphere of Oz, and the shameless topicality and plot twists of Law & Order: SVU. And the first of its eight hour-long chapters plays like an elegant, extended version of the first three minutes of SVU.
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  3. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Vicki Hyman
    Jul 11, 2016
    100
    How Naz's religion (he's the American-born son of Pakistani immigrants) becomes a factor in the case is a natural part of the narrative but never feels like a polemic--The Night Of is too subtle for that. Its brilliance is in the way, thanks to the moody, unrushed direction and pointed, spare dialogue, everything feels freighted with meaning.
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