Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Though HBO’s crime drama The Night Of wrapped up its eight-episode story back in 2016, it remains just as gripping, a predecessor to many of the one season-long HBO series dominating the TV scene over the past year, like Mare Of Easttown and The Undoing.
Grounded by a dynamic, heart-wrenching performance from Riz Ahmed as Naz, a Pakistani-American college student turned suspected murderer, the miniseries launched us into the hazy, winding mystery behind the gruesome demise of a young woman in upper Manhattan. After spending a drug-fueled night with a wealthy, white heiress (Sofia Black-D’Elia), Naz wakes up to find her stabbed to death, and he can’t remember anything about what happened. After fleeing the scene, he becomes the prime suspect when police soon link him to the scene of the crime.
While he awaits trial and his attorney, Jack Stone (John Turturro), works on the case, Naz is sent to Rikers, where he undergoes a major transformation, finding an ally in fellow inmate Freddy (Michael K. Williams). Much of the series delves into Naz’s life in prison, and the emotional toll a broken criminal justice system takes on a person.
Though season two is most definitely ruled out for The Night Of, there are still plenty of series that check similar boxes. Take a look at our list of shows to stream if you need another crime-centric drama to binge.
'Criminal Justice'
The 2008 BBC series Criminal Justice was the inspiration for The Night Of — the plots are closely related, both following young men after they pick up a young woman in a cab. A night of passion and drugs ensues, and afterward they both wake up to a dead body, with no memory of what happened. However, the similarities mostly end there. Whereas in The Night Of Riz Ahmed portrays a Pakistani-American man accused of killing a white woman, the BBC show sees Ben Whishaw’s character, a British white man, accused of killing a Black woman. Each show also centers on on the prison time each man faces, but they cope with their situations differently, leading to different choices and outcomes. Both performances leave a lasting impact.
'Rectify'
Whereas The Night Of sees a man being arrested and later going to prison, Sundance’s Rectify begins with Daniel (Aden Young) having already spent nearly two decades in prison since he was a teenager, now freed from death row by a technicality. He now has to navigate his small town with those who maintain his innocence and those who are convinced of his guilt in raping and killing his then-girlfriend, an event which is hazy and unclear due to the influence of psychedelics. As is the case with Naz, prison has irreversibly impacted Daniel; the themes of The Night Of — the aftermath of the criminal justice system and how those convicted of crimes are treated by their communities — carry over into this four-season drama.
'The Sinner'
USA Network’s The Sinner questions why the crime was committed, rather than who committed the crime. In The Night Of, the person behind the brutal murder remains murky; further, we want to believe Naz’s innocence. The anthology series takes a much different approach, with the show’s first season outright showing the crime committed by Jessica Biel’s Cora Tannetti, who kills a man she doesn’t know for an inexplicable reason. She has no memory of the actual killing — and Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) has to unravel why she did it. Where The Night Of sees its story unfold in eight episodes, each of The Sinner‘s three seasons dives into the psyche of a different criminal, with Detective Ambrose at the forefront.
'Broadchurch'
Broadchurch is also a whodunit, but this time, it’s the murder of a young child that shakes a small British community, unfolding across the first season. David Tennant and Olivia Colman deliver compelling performances as an inspector and detective on the case, the show interweaving their personal lives into the narrative as they navigate the crime. Like The Night Of, Broadchurch is anchored by strong leads and a compelling mystery (with the added bonus of gorgeous scenery), so fans that are looking to fill the post-The Night Of viewing void should check out the BBC drama.
'The Wire'
The classic HBO series The Wire and The Night Of share more than just several cast members in common: both tackle the brokenness and corruption of the criminal justice system. Airing from 2002 to 2008, the five-season series breaks the mold of the police procedural with its commentary on American societal issues, examining them through the lens of the Baltimore drug scene. The show blurs the line between who actually are the good and the bad guys. Complex, iconic performances came out of the series, including Michael K. Williams’ portrayal of Omar Little, a stickup man who robs drug dealers. Williams is also on The Night Of roster as innmate Freddy, who takes an interest in Naz and takes on a protector role; fellow The Wire alum J.D. Williams portrays the man that witnessed Naz fleeing the crime. To top it off, The Night Of creator Richard Price was a regular writer on The Wire, so fans of the miniseries are sure to enjoy Price’s previous work.
'Mare of Easttown'
Yet another HBO crime limited series, Mare Of Easttown features a complicated protagonist, a character-driven whodunit plot, and a rotating list of suspects. Kate Winslet’s Mare, troubled by a tragic past, is a detective brought on to unwind the murder of a teenage mom in her small Pennsylvania town, where everyone she knows could be the murderer. Strongly driven by place (a bit more so than The Night Of, though both focus on the working class) and the characters that inhabit it, Mare‘s seven-episode story is grounded and not too over the top, with just the right amount of realism. Like Ahmed, Winslet delivers a career-defining performance, and that alone makes it worth a binge.
'The Flight Attendant'
Though HBO’s The Flight Attendant leans into more into comedy, its premise will catch the eye of The Night Of fans. Kaley Cuoco is Cassie, an alcoholic flight attendant that spends most of her time partying in each new city she travels to. Early on in the first episode, a passenger on her flight to Bangkok charms Cassie into night of drinking and romance, but the fun comes to an end when she wakes up in the morning next to his murdered body. The kicker: she can’t remember a thing. Sound familiar? Cassie flounders, and her attempts to piece together what happened that night — and determine if she’s a killer or just a plain mess — sure make for an entertaining viewing experience.
