20 Best TV Shows Of 2016
17. The Night Of
Airing in summer, The Night Of was a more than suitable replacement for the True Detective-sized hole in HBO's programming schedule. Although a more straightforward crime drama than that series (Season 1, anyway, since I'll happily pretend 2 didn't happen), it's an easy show to get sucked into and obsess over.
Indeed, that's what The Night of does immediately, with an absolutely fantastic pilot episode that'll have you hooked in no way, and eager to find out what happens to Naz - the protagonist wonderfully played by Riz Ahmed (what a year he's had, by the way).
It all unspooled over eight tightly packed episodes, which took us on a deep dive into the criminal justice system and what happens to people when they're in prison. We see big changes in Naz, too, with Ahmed changing performance and physicality, making us question whether he really is innocent. But, since we see how much the system chews him up, it's not really the point.
Best Episode: The Beach