Emmy-nominee The Night Of is now streaming

A lot can go wrong in just one night! The Night Of sees the wrong place and the wrong time turn party plans into a nightmare ride to prison.

Award-winning miniseries The Night Of,  which has just been nominated for five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor, is available on Showmax right now!

In the span of eight episodes, Pakistani-American Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed) goes from humble student to murder accused with little hope of freedom. And the authorities don’t care that Naz is pleading innocence. He was found with the murder weapon and witnesses saw him the night that Andrea (Sofia Black-D’Elia) was stabbed to death.

Naz starts the night in question borrowing his cab-driver dad’s taxi so that he can go to a party and be seen with the “in” crowd, only to have Andrea mistake him for an on-duty driver. Without skipping a beat, Naz plays chauffeur and gets chatty with his passenger – one thing leads to another and instead of dropping Andrea off… or getting to the party, for that matter… the pair end up in bed.

When young Naz wakes up the next morning, there’s blood everywhere and Andrea is dead. But worse is on the way – being pulled over by the cops on a routine stop sees Naz hauled to the local cop shop and being interrogated by old-school detective Dennis Box (Bill Camp), who’s been around the block and heard every “it wasn’t me” sob story excuse under the sun. Before Naz knows what’s hit him, he’s hauled off to infamous prison Rikers Island, where he learns just how much trouble he’s in.

And it was an eye-opener for British actor Riz. “I can’t even begin to think what it must be like for people who live in that situation,” says the 33-year-old. “I’d rank it [playing Nasir] as the most challenging experience I’ve ever had as an actor. It was emotionally and physically draining. I caught the slightest glimpse of what it’s like to be a prisoner.”

He adds that he never watched Criminal Justice (the British series that The Night Of is based on) but he does know that they have different endings. “And we’d love to do a second series if it’s at all possible,” he hints.

Nasir’s only saving grace is his legal council John Stone (John Turturro), a hardened lawyer who takes pity on Naz after hearing about his case. Throughout the first episode, the only advice that Stone has for Naz is to “shut up”, “be quiet” and “don’t say a word”. Stone knows his client is in trouble but it’s only in episode 2 that it dawns on Naz just how tricky his situation is – when he’s charged with homicide and sent to await trial.

As the episodes play out, it’s revealed that the odds were stacked against Naz from the very beginning and there’s little he could’ve done about it. Here’s a play-by-play recount of how one little event changes the course of Naz’s night and life…

Riding solo
Nerdy Naz plans to go out with his friends to a party in Manhattan. Everything has been arranged until he’s dropped at the 11th hour by his mates – and with no way to get to the all-important party, Naz borrows his dad’s taxi. No harm, no foul, right?

Service with a smile
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t need to worry about the “in service” light (which indicates that the taxi is on the clock and is looking for clients). Instead, people jump in and want to be taken to their destinations, like Andrea. And no one wants to hear Naz saying, “I’m not on duty… I’m not even a real taxi driver!”

Who’s that girl?
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t have met Andrea. And he certainly wouldn’t have been asked to take her to the beach, which is way out of New York City’s limits. Instead, foolish Naz forgets about his friends and the party and drives his passenger wherever her heart desires.

Substance abuse
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t have stayed with Andrea at the beach – and he wouldn’t have been invited back to her townhouse for a nightcap (read: beer and hallucinogenic pills).

Night of knives
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t be listening to a hallucinating Andrea mumbling about knives and other things with sharp edges… or something else more troubling. Naz also wouldn’t be as high as a kite and would have been able to run away long before Andrea’s demise.

Bits & pieces
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t be lying next to a bloodied corpse full of stab wounds. Did he murder Andrea in a drug-induced fit of rage? Was there someone else in the house? Did Andrea do this to herself? Who knows – Naz certainly doesn’t. The night before is a blur to him.

Run, run as fast as you can
If Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t be panicking and making the mistake of fleeing the scene of the crime. Instead, he would have been at home with his parents and not in his dad’s taxi, stopped for a random traffic violation.

Bloody fool
And if Naz had got a lift with his friends, he wouldn’t have the bloodied knife with him – and after a little police work, the cops link it to a murder case opened that very morning!

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time” is the world’s oldest excuse. Except in Naz’s case, it might be true!

Watch now »

Sources: ew.com, hbo.com, imdb.com, theguardian.com, tvfanatic.com, youtube.com.