The Night Of
The Night Of is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama miniseries based on the first season of Criminal Justice, a 2008 British series.[2] The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original Criminal Justice plot by Peter Moffat), and directed by Zaillian and James Marsh.[3] Broadcast on HBO, The Night Of premiered on July 10, 2016 to critical acclaim.[4][5] The first episode premiered on June 24, 2016, via HBO's on-demand services.[6] The Night Of received 13 Emmy nominations, winning five, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Riz Ahmed.
The Night Of
Richard Price
Steven Zaillian
Steven Zaillian
James Marsh
- John Turturro
- Riz Ahmed
- Bill Camp
- Payman Maadi
- Poorna Jagannathan
- Sofia Black-D'Elia
- Afton Williamson
- Ben Shenkman
- Jeannie Berlin
- Paul Sparks
- Ned Eisenberg
- Nabil Elouahabi
- Michael Kenneth Williams
- Glenne Headly
- Amara Karan
- Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones
- Mohammad Bakri
- Ashley Thomas
- Paulo Costanzo
- Chip Zien
- Glenn Fleshler
United States
- English
- Urdu
8
- Steven Zaillian
- Richard Price
- Jane Tranter
- James Gandolfini
- Peter Moffat
- Garrett Basch
- Mark A. Baker (pilot)
- Scott Ferguson
- Robert Elswit (pilot)
- Frederick Elmes
- Igor Martinović
- Jay Cassidy (pilot)
- Nick Houy
56–96 minutes
- BBC Worldwide Productions
- Bad Wolf
- Film Rites
July 10 –
August 28, 2016
Production[edit]
On September 19, 2012, it was announced that HBO had ordered a pilot based on the British television series Criminal Justice. James Gandolfini was set to star, Richard Price would write the project, and Steven Zaillian would direct.[8] On February 19, 2013, HBO passed on the project.[9] However, on May 13, 2013, HBO reversed course, picking up Criminal Justice as a seven-part limited series.[10] After Gandolfini's death on June 19, 2013, it was reported that the miniseries would move forward in his honor, and that Robert De Niro was set to replace Gandolfini.[11] On April 21, 2014, John Turturro replaced De Niro because of scheduling conflicts.[2] On March 11, 2016, it was announced that the project would premiere in the middle of 2016 under the title The Night Of. Gandolfini retains a posthumous executive producer credit.[4]
In July 2016, Steven Zaillian commented about the possibility of a second season: "We're thinking about it and if we come up with something we all feel is worthy of doing, we'll do it. This was designed as a stand-alone piece. That being said, there are ways of certainly kind of taking what it feels like and what it's about and doing another season on another subject."[12] In April 2017, Zaillian again commented on the possibility of a second season, saying: "Listen, we would love to do it, and when I say 'we,' I mean [co-creator] Richard Price and myself. If we can come up with something that we fall in love with, we'll do it. If we don't, we won't."[13] In August 2017, John Turturro talked about the possibility of returning for season two: "We've been talking. So we'll see. I would be very interested because I felt that character offered something really rich. I'm hoping that that will come to fruition."[14]
In January 2020, John Turturro stated that new episodes of The Night Of are still a possibility: "We have a couple of ideas but we have to sit down and discuss them, so we're at that stage so that's good."[15]
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
The Night Of received critical acclaim. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim" based on 40 reviews.[24] It has a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.6/10 based on 88 reviews; its consensus reads, "The Night Of is a richly crafted, exquisitely performed mystery that will keep viewers enthralled and leave them devastated."[25]
IGN reviewer Jesse Schedeen gave the entire miniseries an 8.9 out of 10 "Great" score, writing, "With only a couple of exceptions, this summer hasn't been the greatest when it comes to new TV series, which makes The Night Of's brief run all the more special. This limited series did little to shake up the formula when it [comes to] crime dramas, but it was distinguished by its amazing cast and the pervasive tension that drove the series from start to finish."[26]