History Series / TheNightOf

* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Freddy offers his protection to Nasir after painstakingly explaining that without it, he'll be murdered.

-->--'''Naz'''

* GoldDigger: Andrea's financial adviser accuses her step-father of being one due to his long history of shacking up with rich, older women.

* ImportantHaircut: Nasir buzzes off his hair to present a tougher image in jail. Stone isn't happy to see his "good boy" client start looking like a thug. In the next episode a character compares Andrea to Delilah, making Naz Samson.

* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Stone suffers erectile dysfunction due to taking steroids for his eczema. He buys some black market Viagra to compensate.

* TattooedCrook: Nasir gets a number of tattoos to fit in with the jail population. Stone laments them, because they'll make him less sympathetic to the jury. He has to address it in his closing speech, saying that they're part of "surviving" jail.

* VomitingCop: One of Nasir's arresting officers runs from the crime scene and is seen dry heaving on the street. A RunningGag has him constantly denying that he actually threw up, but in episode three he finally admits that he did. The trope is then deliberately {{exploited}} by Box: when the cop asks to leave the detail out of his report, he's told to leave it in, because it humanizes him as a witness and thus helps the prosecution's case.

* AsianRudeness: The shopkeeper of the traditional Chinese medicine store is blunt and rude to Stone.

* GoldDigger: Andrea's financial adviser accuses her step-father of being one due to his long history of shacking up with rich, older women.

* CriminallyAttractive: When Naz asks Chandra if she's just defending him [[PunchClockHero for the money]], she denies it, then shyly kisses him.

* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Freddy offers his protection to Nasir after painstakingly explaining that without it, he'll be murdered.
* OffOnATechnicality: Sort of. The final verdict in Naz's trial is [[spoiler: a deadlocked jury. Six-six split.]] The only reason that [[spoiler: Naz avoids another trial is because the DA decides not to re-file charges. At this point, she no longer believes that Naz even did it]].

* ThisIsThePartWhere: When John's steroids cause TheLoinsSleepTonight, he says "This is where the guy stares at the ceiling and says, 'That's never happened to me before,' and the girl touches his arm and says, 'It's okay. It happens.'"
* VomitingCop: One of Nasir's arresting officers runs from the crime scene and is seen dry heaving on the street. A RunningGag has him constantly denying that he actually threw up, but in episode three he finally admits that he did. The trope is then deliberately {{exploited}} by Box: when the cop asks to leave the detail out of his report, he's told to leave it in, because it humanizes him as a witness and thus helps the prosecution's case.

* GoingNative: Naz slowly transforms into a thug while in jail. By the time he leaves, he's a tattooed drug addict.

* ItsPersonal: When Naz asks Chandra if she's just defending him [[PunchClockHero for the money]], she denies it, then shyly kisses him.

* KnuckleTattoos: Nasir gets "SIN" tattooed on the fingers of one hand and "[[Literature/SinbadTheSailor BAD]]" tattooed on the other while in prison as he slowly transforms into a thug under the influence of Freddy.

* LuxuryPrisonSuite: While other prisoners sleep on cots in the communal room, Freddy has a private cell featuring a television and quite a bit of furniture.

* PetTheDog: Stone takes in Andrea's cat, even though he's allergic. He buys it toys, plays with it through a door, and even dons a face mask and dishwashing gloves to pet it. In the finale episode [[spoiler:Stone dumps the cat back at the pound, but the final shot reveals that he eventually takes it back]].

* RustproofBlood: Many hours after the murder, the blood splattered around the bedroom is still bright red. In the coroner's photos, however, it looks black.

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: At the end of the series the fate of many of the characters is still up in the air; the true murderer is never confirmed, Nasir is free but changed by his time in prison and starting to fall into drug addiction, Chandra might face disbarment and Denis and Helen are continuing the murder investigation.]]

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler: At the end of the series the fate of many of the characters is still up in the air; the true murderer is never revealed, Nasir is free but changed by his time in prison and starting to fall into drug addiction, Chandra might face disbarment and Denis and Helen are continuing the murder investigation.]]

* InnocentInnuendo: When a man in Stone's support group says he's "holding his own" in his dating life, Stone notes that it's an [[ADateWithRosiePalms unfortunate choice of words]].

The series stars Creator/RizAhmed as Nasir Khan, a sheltered Pakistani-American college kid who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman he had a one-night stand with. Creator/JohnTurturro co-stars as John Stone, an AmbulanceChaser who jumps at the chance to be his lawyer. Creator/BillCamp, Creator/JeannieBerlin, Creator/PaymanMaadi,
Creator/MichaelKWilliams and Creator/PoornaJagannathan round out the cast.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: People have a hard time with Nasir's race, mistaking him for Egyptian, Arab and others. He's Pakistani-American.

The series stars Creator/RizAhmed as Nasir Khan, a sheltered Pakistani-American college kid who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman he had a one-night stand with. Creator/JohnTurturro co-stars as John Stone, an AmbulanceChaser who jumps at the chance to be his lawyer. Creator/BillCamp, Creator/JeannieBerlin, Creator/PaymanMaadi, and Creator/PoornaJagannathan round out the cast.

The series stars Creator/RizAhmed as Nasir Khan, a sheltered Pakistani-American college kid who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman he had a one-night stand with. Creator/JohnTurturro co-stars as John Stone, an AmbulanceChaser who jumps at the chance to be his lawyer.

* LineOfSightName: {{Subverted}}. Trevor says that the name of his companion was "Duane Reade" while sitting across the street from a Duane Reade pharmacy. Stone calls him on it, but later discovers that it ''is'' the man's name.

* AsTheGoodBookSays: The mortician references Judges 16 in regard to Andrea. Chandra looks it up, and it's the story of Samson and Delilah (also referenced in the episode title).

* OffOnATechnicality: Sort of. The final verdict in Naz's trial is [[spoiler: a deadlocked jury. Six-six split.]] The only reason that [[spoiler: Naz avoids another trial is because the DA decides not to re-file charges. It is heavily implied that, if she had, Naz would have been found guilty. However, it turns out he was innocent.]]

* PunchClockHero: A recurring theme is that people in the criminal justice system are all just doing their jobs. We see many of them behaving surly, bored, tired or generally just putting in their nine-to-five before clocking out, which stands in direct contrast to the people they interact with, who are going through the worst period in their lives. Stone and Box spend the series gradually moving away from the trope. In the series finale, the trope is discussed when a police officer suggests making a show about a cop who "doesn't give a shit." Overhearing him inspires the now-retired Box to put in some last-minute work to find the real killer.

** The stuffed horse head's glass eye is given several insert shots, including one in the opening credits.
** CCTV camera footage factors heavily into the story.
** Andrea DiesWideOpen, as seen in many coroner photographs.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Freddy is introduced as a wise, charming guy who has Naz's safety as a priority. However, as the series progresses, it's clear he cares only about himself and has very little respect for the lives of others.
* FemmeFatale: Andrea is described as such in deeply misogynistic fashion by the mortician from the gas station, who compares her to [[Literature/TheBible Delilah.]] He claims, "I've dealt with women like her all my life," and even suggests Chandra might be one just because she dares to confront him.

** {{Justified|Trope}} and {{Discussed|Trope}} regarding Andrea; the huge brownstone she lives in despite never having a steady job is an inheritance from her very wealthy mother. Box finds this out early on, but does nothing with the information, as he's focused on Naz. It's only when Stone asks the same questions that he finds information arousing suspicion about [[spoiler:her Gold Digger stepfather.]]

* KnuckleTattoos: Nasir gets three-fingered tattoos on each hand while in prison as he slowly transforms into a thug under the influence of Freddy.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Chandra gets drunk and vents about just breaking up with her boyfriend, apparently still emotional about it. This sets up her [[spoiler:impulsively kissing Nasir later]].

** Someone states that Nasir is a "real" Muslim, not just a member of the Nation of Islam.

* EyeMotif: Eyes and vision are a recurring theme.

* FemmeFatale: Andrea is described as such in deeply misogynistic fashion by the mortician from the gas station, who compares her to [[Literature/TheBible Delilah.]] He claims to have "dealt with women like [that] all [his] life", and even suggests Chandra might be one just because she dares to confront him.

* {{Motif}}: Eyes and seeing.
** Nasir's large, brown, innocent eyes are frequently focused on and sometimes commented on.
** The stuffed horse head's glass eye is given several insert shots, including one in the opening credits.
** CCTV camera footage factors heavily into the story.
** Andrea DiesWideOpen, as seen in many coroner photographs.
** Characters are frequently shown fixedly staring at things, particularly on "the night of," with plot significance:
*** Duane Reade stares at Andrea and Nasir going into Andrea's house, leading characters to wonder if he was planning to rob them.
*** The coroner stares at Andrea for a while, leading characters to wonder if he'd developed a spontaneous grudge against her.
*** In the final episode, Box watches CCTV footage of Andrea glancing at something off-screen, giving him a lead. He freeze-frames on her looking into the camera.
*** Nasir receives many a DeathGlare from people in prison and his own community.

* NamesTheSame: Duane Reade shares the name of the line of pharmacies. Stone thinks that Trevor is making up a LineOfSightName due to one being across the street.

* OffOnATechnicality: Sort of. The final verdict in Naz's trial is [[spoiler: a deadlocked jury. Six-six split.]] The only reason that [[spoiler: Naz avoids another trial is because the DA decides not to re-file charges. It is heavily implied that, if she had, Naz would have been found guilty.]]

* ByronicHero: As the series progresses, this is John Stone: he's a grumpy, seemingly-bottom feeding lawyer who is divorced, lives alone, isn't terribly happy with himself and worried about how others think of him, and is afflicted with a ''pronounced'' case of eczema that basically isolates him from most people. He's also [[KnightInSourArmor willing to take a flier on Naz's innocence, goes WAY beyond his job responsibilities to gather evidence, and [[spoiler: delivers an absolutely killer closing argument that probably saved Naz's freedom]]. Also, he adopts Andrea's abandoned cat, despite being allergic.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: A great deal of focus is given to Stone's. The irritation on his feet is extreme enough that he cannot wear normal shoes or socks.

** [[spoiler:Box plays nice with Nasir in order to try and convince him to confess while Nasir is in police custody. He drops the act after Nasir refuses to do so and is brutally mean to almost everyone else for most of the rest of the series]].

* ByronicHero: As the series progresses, this is John Stone: he's a grumpy, seemingly-bottom feeding lawyer who is divorced, lives alone, isn't terribly happy with himself and worried about how others think of him, and is afflicted with a ''pronounced'' case of eczema that basically isolates him from most people. He's also [[KnightInSourArmor willing to take a flier on Naz's innocence, goes WAY beyond his job responsibilities to gather evidence, and [[spoiler: delivers an absolutely killer closing argument that probably saved Naz's freedom. See OffOnATechnicality below.]]]] Also, he adopts Andrea's abandoned cat, despite being allergic.

* EpicFail: Chandra's decision to put Naz on the stand is supposed to engender jury sympathy, despite Stone's pleading not to do it. He's proven right: the prosecutor coldly and efficiently cross-examines Naz, painting him as unreliable, manipulative, self-centered, and even gets him to doubt his own innocence ("Did you kill her?" "I don't know.") It goes so badly that Chandra is shown trying not to tear up in court, and Stone is ''furious'' at the easily-avoidable unforced error the whole exercise was. See TranquilFury below.

* PunchClockHero: A recurring theme is that people in the criminal justice system are all just doing their jobs. We see many of them behaving surly, bored, tired or generally just putting in their 9-5 before clocking out, which stands in direct contrast to the people they interact with, who are going through the worst period in their lives. Stone and Box spend the series gradually moving away from the trope. In the series finale, the trope is discussed when a police officer suggests making a show about a cop who "doesn't give a shit," and overhearing him inspires the now retired Box to put in some last-minute work to find the real killer.

* TranquilFury: Stone's reaction to Chandra's decision to put Naz on the stand. As they sit outside the courtroom, [[RuleOfSymbolism on benches that face each other,]] he barely talks above a whisper and Chandra cannot meet his eye.

* ThisIsThePartWhere: When John's steroids cause TheLoinsSleepTonight, he says "This is where the guy stares at the ceiling and says, "That's never happened to me before," and the girl touches his arm and says, "It's okay. It happens"."

** [[spoiler: Realizing it is a terrible, terrible idea doesn't save her job, though.]]

* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Stone suffers erectile dysfunction due to taking steroids for his psoriasis. He buys some black market Viagra to compensate.

* RaceFetish: John Stone has a thing for black women. His ex-wife is black, and he's seen sleeping with a black prostitute. When he mentions "young urban women," Chandra notes how "well-spoken" he is with that term. In the series finale, after Stone has decided to not care what other people think about him, he sits across from a black woman in the subway and scratches his psoriasis without embarrassment.

** Additionally, Crowe's criticism of Stone as an ambulance chaser. Replace "ambulance" with "news van" and [[NotSoDifferent she's pretty much the same thing]].

The series stars Creator/RizAhmed as Nasir Khan, a sheltered Pakistani-American college kid who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman he had a one-night stand with. Creator/JohnTuturro co-stars as John Stone, an AmbulanceChaser who jumps at the chance to be his lawyer.

* AmbiguouslyBrown: People have a hard time with Nasir's race, mistaking him for Egyptian, Arab and other races. He's Pakistani-American.

** Nasir gets a montage where he does fairly banal and innocent things, such as attend college, cheer the school team at practice and debate his brother on sports during a family dinner, establishing him as a regular, wholesome young man. [[spoiler:This impression is put to question throughout the series, with revelations that Nasir uses Adderal and was expelled from one high school for pushing a classmate down a flight of stairs]].

** Alison Crowe is introduced smoothly delivering a victory speech to a media scrum and even trying to point out the hypocrisy of a journalist asking her a question, establishing her as a capable and intelligent, yet attention mongering attorney.

** Aditionally, Crowe's criticism of Stone as an ambulance chaser. Replace "ambulance" with "news van" and [[NotSoDifferent she's pretty much the same thing]].

* LightIsGood: Stone is alarmed when Nasir comes in for the first day of his trial in a blue shirt. He insists that Nasir always wear white shirts to appear innocent, going as far as to give Nasir his own light-colored shirt while the jury files in.
* LineOfSightName: Subverted. Trevor says that the name of his companion was "Duane Reade" while sitting across the street from a Duane Reade pharmacy. Stone calls him on it, but later discovers that it ''is'' the man's name.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Subverted. Andrea behaves a lot like one, taking Nasir out of his shell and on a midnight adventure, but she's a damaged person and ends up getting murdered. It's also revealed in the finale that on the night she jumped into Naz's cab, she was in fear for her life -- she latched on to him as a way to protect herself, and possibly in part to escape from her own worries.

* TheUnreveal: Stone lists a number of types of people that defense attorneys should ''never'' allow in a jury, several of which he explains. When Chandra asks, "Why sailors?" the show cuts to the next scene.

* VomitingCop: One of Nasir's arresting officers runs from the crime scene and is seen dry heaving on the street. A RunningGag has him constantly denying that he actually threw up, but in episode three he finally admits that he did. The trope is then deliberately {{exploited}} by Box: when the cop asks to leave the detail out of his report, he's told to leave it in, because it humanises him as a witness and thus helps the prosecution's case.

''The Night Of'' is a 2016 miniseries produced by Creator/{{HBO}} and Creator/{{BBC}} Worldwide, based on the 2008 BBC series ''Series/CriminalJustice''. r

''The Night Of'' is a 2016 miniseries produced by Creator/{{HBO}} and Creator/{{BBC}} Worldwide, based on the 2008 BBC series ''Series/CriminalJustice''.

The series stars Riz Ahmed as Nasir Khan, a sheltered Pakistani-American college kid who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman he had a one-night stand with. Creator/JohnTuturro co-stars as John Stone, an AmbulanceChaser who jumps at the chance to be his lawyer.

** Crowe hasn't been shown to use illegal methods, but her morality is suspect. She recruits an Indian associate to act as a "prop" to gain the Khans' trust and then dumps Nasir's case the second things don't go her way.