themusicaddict's Review of "The Night Of" (Small Orange Spoilers)

Hello,

I heard good things about "The Night Of" when it was first released. I watched about 5 minutes of an episode and wasn't impressed. But I've kept on seeing very positive reviews about this show, so I decided to give it another chance. Eventually I got around to watching it again and I devoured the 8 episodes in a very short period of time.

Riz Ahmed (soon to be seen in "Rogue One") is accused murderer Naz Kahn, who's at the center of this show. His victim is the incredibly gorgeous Andrea Cornish, played by Sofia Black D'elia. Michael Kenneth Williams is Naz's protector at Riker's Prison. John Turturro, who plays John Stone, is one of Naz's lawyers. Stone is a lawyer that will usually plead out anyone for $250. However he sees something more in Naz than his usual sleazy clients. Amara Karan plays Chandra Kapoor, another lawyer for Naz.

On the prosecutor's side is long-time and about to retire detective Dennis Box. Box sees the murder scene and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Naz is guilty. He still thoroughly investigates the case as he's both a great detective and someone that wants to do his job correctly. Jeannie Berlin plays prosecutor Helen Weiss. All of these actors do an amazing job.

Turturro's John Stone is a great character. There's a recurring storyline about the battle he has with his allergies. But he also is a very compassionate person, which is why he fought so hard for Kahn. It's also why he rescued Andrea Cornish's orange cat on her death. The cat inflames his allergies, but he still takes care of the cat. He keeps the cat locked in a room he doesn't use as he struggles with whether he should keep the cat or not. He does what he can to mitigate his allergies while taking care of the cat. I love the final scene when we Stone head out to represent one more sleaze bag and we see the orange cat walking free in his apartment. It seems against his better judgement he has decided to keep the cat. The fate of the cat and Naz fit so well together.

Those are the main characters so how is the show? One thing I always judge a show on is how it ends. "The Night Of" has a great and very satisfying ending. It's completely believable, we believe Naz when he says he doesn't even know if he killed Andrea or not. Also the ending isn't a cliche and is very satisfying for not being predictable or clear cut.

For the most part all of the characters are believable, doing their jobs to the best of their ability. Most of the characters are decent people. Some of these decent people make mistakes, but when they do they do what they can to fix those mistakes.

I would give this show a solid A and highly recommend it to anyone who likes smart, challenging TV.

themusicaddict