What is it? The Night Of, limited series, eight episodes on three discs from HBO Home Video
How much? $49.99, $59.99 (Blu-ray)
When? Now
The night of what? The murder.
Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed), a college student of Pakistani descent, borrows his father's (Peyman Moaadi) cab to go to a party with friends. But things don't happen the way he'd planned and he ends up spending a sex- and drug-fueled evening with a young woman named Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black D'Elia).
When he wakes up, she's dead. He has no memory of what happened but he's now the prime suspect.
From there, the series moves into a detailed study of the criminal justice system. Veteran New York Police Department Detective Dennis Box (Bill Camp) is dogged in his investigation but he's not certain he has the right man. Weary but determined defense attorney John Stone (John Turturro) is the first to come to Naz's aid and remains a key part in his defense, going up against district attorney Helen Weiss (Jeannie Berlin).
Meanwhile, Naz must try to survive life on Rikers Island, where he forms an alliance with the powerful inmate Freddy Knight (Michael Kenneth Williams).
Naz's defense team (including Glenne Headly and Amara Karan), Andrea's friends and family and a host of officers and experts round out a collection of characters all working toward a resolution in the intricate murder case.
How is it? Engrossing, frustrating and suspenseful. There's a moodiness and starkness to it that heightens the reality of the situations.
It's very methodical, particularly in scenarios such as when Naz is arrested and booked, where the careful, deliberate pace make Naz's plight both surreal and more relatable.
All of the characters involved come across as real people so while one may root for Naz, the people out to get a conviction aren't villains themselves. People make mistakes and while that's human, those mistakes can also have devastating consequences. The series does a great job of showing that fact of life and the actors involved are all fantastic in their three-dimensional roles.
Ultimately, the series demonstrates how the justice system works (or sometimes doesn't work) and how it affects the people involved. In the end, many people's lives are altered, if not utterly derailed, by Cornish's murder.
Extras? None.
New this week: As Time Goes By, Silver Anniversary Collection, Volume 1; Curious George, Season 9; The Durrells, Season 1; Heartland, Season 9; Hell on Wheels, Season 5, Volume 2; The IT Crowd, complete series; The Librarians, Season 1; Outlander, Season 2; The Walking Dead, Season 6 (Blu-ray).
Next week: Batman Beyond, complete series; Billions, Season 1; Black Sails, Season 3; Daredevil, Season 1 (Blu-ray); Into the Badlands, Season 1; Sisters, Season 6.
Style on 10/30/2016