11 Grim TV Moments You Won't Watch Again
1. Nazir Khan's "Win" In In The Night Of
One doesn't have to look far to find a show that doubles as an indictment of the criminal justice system and its flaws and loopholes, but HBO's The Night Of is one of the most detailed, unflinching portrayals in recent years.
The show starts innocently enough - or as innocently a night of hard partying, sex and drugs can be. Nazir Khan (Riz Ahmed) has stolen his father's cab and winds up at the home of a young woman, only to awaken next to her corpse and no recollection of what happened. He's quickly thrust into Riker's Island and stuck with a homicide charge, refusing to confess.
His attorney (John Turturro) has been around the block a few times, so he know Nazir must do what he has to in order to survive in prison - including smuggling drugs for prisoners who can protect him. Every turn is painful and his innocence, while likely, seems to matter less and less when plea bargains for a lesser sentence are offered.
Eventually, Naz is cleared of the charges - or at least freed thanks to a deadlocked jury that may or may not have had some prejudice toward his Pakistani heritage - but his time in Riker's haunts him, leaving him alone with a newfound drug habit he can't kick. He's free, sure, but at what cost?