THE NIGHT OF: Episode 1- THE BEACH follows Nasir "Naz" Khan (Riz Ahmed) is a naive, or maybe flat out dumb ass is more appropriate, Pakistani-American college student living in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York who, after being unable to procure a ride, borrows his father's taxi to attend a popular.
Problem one; the cab's "on duty" light is on, and he can't figure out how to turn it off. This leads to a series of unhappy passengers who he refuses rides to.
Problem two; this leads to meeting Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black D'Elia) who wants a ride to the beach. Being both a woman, and attractive he doesn't say 'no.' It actually doesn't take long for Naz to tell Andrea, who had caught the quick blurb "This isn't my cab." when they first met, the truth. Instead of Naz attending the party, Naz and Andrea go to the river and chat which leads to a seeming 'emotional connection', drugs, alcohol, and sex at her place in the Upper West Side with a woman who turns out to be both mysterious and nuts.
Problem three; he wakes up the next morning sitting at the kitchen table. He wanders back into the bedroom to get dressed only to find Andrea stabbed to death. He panics, and runs, but the cab is locked, and he left the keys in the apartment, and now the main entrance of the building is also locked. He breaks back in, grabs his keys, and the knife (presumably the murder weapon), and flees again.
Problem four; he's pulled over by cops for ignoring a "no left turn" sign. They get pulled away to another call, taking Naz with them, without reading him his rights. The call they're pulled away to.., You guessed it The crime scene quickly becomes a circus all while Naz sits in the back of the police cruiser. When the lead detective shows up, Naz, who has not been linked to the crime is transferred to another car and taken to the police station.
Problem five; the cops who "arrested" him did so for a minor traffic violation (and possible DUI, although he's never tested) were just basically being jerks about it. The cops in the police car which takes Naz back to the station think Naz is a witness to the murder, but otherwise not linked to the crime, but Naz doesn't really know any of this.
Meanwhile, due to a racist exchange earlier in the evening with a twenty something, an eye witness puts Andrea with an "Arab" earlier in the evening who eventually positively identifies Naz. To make matters worse, his parents discover that he's not home, and begin to fear for his safety.
The first episode is a series of unfortunate, and unlucky events for Naz; a stew of bad choices, stupid twenty something horny kid, and a little Islamophobia. With the Miranda Rights never being explained, nor the right to an attorney, or a phone call-- all seems hopeless for this kid.
Naz, however, does have two things going for him; lead detective, Dennis Box (Bill Camp) is a fair guy. He doesn't necessarily believe Naz, but he isn't playing "bad cop" either. He's professional and courteous.
Without even asking for it, world weary lawyer, John Stone (John Turturro) takes his case. As he doesn't show up until the near the end of the episode, not much is yet known about Stone.
Other than the big mystery of who killed Andrea Cornish, the show is a drama focusing on a stupid kid caught up in an unfortunate situation. It's basically something that could have happened to anyone.
THE NIGHT OF, loosely based on the British Crime Drama, CRIMINAL JUSTICE (2008-2009), seems to be mostly a character driven piece more than a murder mystery. Sure there's the big 'who done it?', but it isn't what drives the story. Naz's plight does, at least for now.
Despite the fact that this kid does everything wrong, and some of the cops are a bit of a schmuck, it's a decent episode. Although, it doesn't really distinguish itself from any other crime/mystery/drama it's still worth the watch, at least for now.
Problem one; the cab's "on duty" light is on, and he can't figure out how to turn it off. This leads to a series of unhappy passengers who he refuses rides to.
Problem two; this leads to meeting Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black D'Elia) who wants a ride to the beach. Being both a woman, and attractive he doesn't say 'no.' It actually doesn't take long for Naz to tell Andrea, who had caught the quick blurb "This isn't my cab." when they first met, the truth. Instead of Naz attending the party, Naz and Andrea go to the river and chat which leads to a seeming 'emotional connection', drugs, alcohol, and sex at her place in the Upper West Side with a woman who turns out to be both mysterious and nuts.
Problem three; he wakes up the next morning sitting at the kitchen table. He wanders back into the bedroom to get dressed only to find Andrea stabbed to death. He panics, and runs, but the cab is locked, and he left the keys in the apartment, and now the main entrance of the building is also locked. He breaks back in, grabs his keys, and the knife (presumably the murder weapon), and flees again.
Problem four; he's pulled over by cops for ignoring a "no left turn" sign. They get pulled away to another call, taking Naz with them, without reading him his rights. The call they're pulled away to.., You guessed it The crime scene quickly becomes a circus all while Naz sits in the back of the police cruiser. When the lead detective shows up, Naz, who has not been linked to the crime is transferred to another car and taken to the police station.
Problem five; the cops who "arrested" him did so for a minor traffic violation (and possible DUI, although he's never tested) were just basically being jerks about it. The cops in the police car which takes Naz back to the station think Naz is a witness to the murder, but otherwise not linked to the crime, but Naz doesn't really know any of this.
Meanwhile, due to a racist exchange earlier in the evening with a twenty something, an eye witness puts Andrea with an "Arab" earlier in the evening who eventually positively identifies Naz. To make matters worse, his parents discover that he's not home, and begin to fear for his safety.
The first episode is a series of unfortunate, and unlucky events for Naz; a stew of bad choices, stupid twenty something horny kid, and a little Islamophobia. With the Miranda Rights never being explained, nor the right to an attorney, or a phone call-- all seems hopeless for this kid.
Naz, however, does have two things going for him; lead detective, Dennis Box (Bill Camp) is a fair guy. He doesn't necessarily believe Naz, but he isn't playing "bad cop" either. He's professional and courteous.
Without even asking for it, world weary lawyer, John Stone (John Turturro) takes his case. As he doesn't show up until the near the end of the episode, not much is yet known about Stone.
Other than the big mystery of who killed Andrea Cornish, the show is a drama focusing on a stupid kid caught up in an unfortunate situation. It's basically something that could have happened to anyone.
THE NIGHT OF, loosely based on the British Crime Drama, CRIMINAL JUSTICE (2008-2009), seems to be mostly a character driven piece more than a murder mystery. Sure there's the big 'who done it?', but it isn't what drives the story. Naz's plight does, at least for now.
Despite the fact that this kid does everything wrong, and some of the cops are a bit of a schmuck, it's a decent episode. Although, it doesn't really distinguish itself from any other crime/mystery/drama it's still worth the watch, at least for now.