This piece revisits HBO's 2016 limited series "The Night Of," arguing it stands as a slow-burn crime thriller superior to "True Detective." The article credits HBO's track record of prestige, cinematic television—citing predecessors like Band of Brothers and The Pacific—for creating the conditions in which the eight-episode series could excel, both as a tense legal drama and as a pointed examination of racial and ethical bias within the American justice system.

The series follows Pakistani-American college student Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed), who spends an eventful night with a woman named Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black-D'Elia) after meeting her at a party, during which he steals his father's taxi, takes drugs, and is stopped by police for a traffic infraction. He wakes to find Andrea has been stabbed to death, and though none of his actions were malicious, they combine to make him look highly suspicious. The article highlights the show's unusual structure as a whodunit told entirely from the suspect's perspective, empathising with Naz as the legal process unfolds around him.