The wide-eyed Ahmed is perfect as the naive young man who can’t seem to make a right decision. That is until he agrees to let Turturro’s Jack Stone help him. And Turturro hits the right notes as the cynical attorney who has his work cut out for him.

This is HBO’s best “limited series” since Angels in America, which in 2004 won all of the major Emmy awards in its category.

Through seven of its eight hours (HBO didn't give critics the finale in advance), it's vital and gripping. It's not an imitator dressing itself up in the trappings of a classic HBO drama, but the real deal.

The performances, in fact, are so uniformly strong and the direction so deft that it's possible to overlook a plot that, like The Killing (and Netflix's new thriller Marcella) introduces a few too many Law & Order-like plot twists to be totally believable.

With its first episode, The Night Of tears out of the driveway, scary and thrilling, like a muscle car. But just as it’s about to open up and do 100, it slows down, unwilling to become a joyride. Instead of proving Naz’s innocence, future episodes take in the scope of his circumstance. For all that The Night Of shares with Serial and Making a Murderer, it shares as much with The Wire, a series about the omnipotence of dysfunctional power structures.

It doesn’t break any new ground, but unlike most crime procedurals, it’s neither facile nor jokey. Whether in the end Naz is guilty or innocent may not matter. The series ultimately succeeds on its mystery and as a provocative trip through the justice system.

At one point, The Night Of might have been groundbreaking. But in the wake of the excellent ABC series “American Crime,” which has walked the same outrage with far more nuances, sophistication and a superior cast, The Night Of feels so last decade.

I really like many parts of this tv series, and I doubt they can top this first season in a second season. I really like the lawyer character, who is seedy, beaten-down, and jaded, and he is not on a wholly different plane from his criminal clients as some lawyers are. This shows the darker side of the law profession. I like how this character beats the odds to win this big league criminal case. I like the Riz Ahmed character and how he is transformed in jail from a good, sweet, dutiful kid into a tough, swaggering enforcer for his mentor, Freddy. Ahmed successfully portrayed this transformation. In some ways, I like how the mystery is not completely solved leaving the case unsolved, but in other ways, I wish there had been more closure and resolution about who killed the girl. I like the retiring cop character who actually has a conscience and tries to do the right thing in the end. He is a contrast to the Ahmed character who gets corrupted by the jail system. I didn't like the kiss between Ahmed and the young corporate lawyer since (1) it is very implausible (2) it introduces an unnecessary romantic subplot that doesn't add anything. I hope there will be a season two, but, as I said, I doubt a season two will measure up to season one. I definitely hope Turturro as the lawyer and the cop characters both return since their duel was the central plotting angle.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This started off great, with a deliberately slow pace and a really authentic air to the proceedings. The acting was excellent by everyone concerned and the production values and technical skill were high. Although the screenplay ended up lacking, the dialogue was very good throughout. The first episode in particular was extremely well done in terms of pacing and tension. This level of overall quality was sustained for roughly six episodes with only a few minor missteps. **SPOILERS AHEAD*** That said, the 7th and 8th episodes take a huge nosedive in terms of credibility, and the finale is supremely unsatisfying: Exhibit A - Chandra Kapoor's actions and motivations are silly. Kissing her client while in jail - a client she hardly even knows - then smuggling drugs in for him shortly thereafter? I'm not buying that. Exhibit B - The multiple alternate suspects emerging at the trial have back stories ranging from scant to highly contrived. The step father has the most to gain, but in the end only serves as a counterpoint to the other suspicious characters. The undertaker's actions under initial questioning are stupid - he'd never admit to such misogynistic thoughts to a stranger, who happens to be a (female) lawyer investigating the death of a woman he was recently in contact with - especially if he had actually committed the crime. Duane Reade's backstory is hilariously identical to someone who could have committed the specific crime in question. And then that Ray guy pops up out of nowhere, half an hour from the end of the final episode, with a motivation that seemed dreamed up at the last minute. Exhibit C - It seems extremely far-fetched that any jury would not convict Naz with the evidence they'd been presented **** amount of physical and circumstantial evidence pointing towards Naz being guilty is overwhelming, any alternative suspects seemed **** up in a desperate scramble by his defence team to throw anything at the wall in the hopes that something would stick, and Naz himself first accepts a plea in exchange for leniency, then changes his mind and proclaims his innocence, then finally admits after being asked directly if he killed the girl says, 'I don't know'. What jury wouldn't convict in those circumstances? Exhibit D - The audience never finds out who killed Andrea. And in fact doesn't even know that Naz isn't the killer. It's a real shame this ended up the way it did. It had so much potential. If the makers had tread the thin line of credibility as carefully in the second half of the series as they did in the first then this would have been a truly memorable affair.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I have to change my grade from a 10, because the show has completely morphed into a political commentary with a huge left wing bias. It has gotten so bad that their agenda had totally ruined our main character, and now he's making the dumbest decisions while he's fighting for his life in court. Innocent kid tattooing SIN on his knuckles? Does he want to stay in jail? Whatever. The creators know how to make a great show, but their politics have completely destroyed the characters. I thought this was going to be a murder mystery. Nope. It's a show about prison.