Bright Lights, Gritty City
HBO’s slick, cinematic and gritty New York-based crime procedural The Night Of could provide the hit the US cablenet now needs, writes Jules Grant. HBO has made its name with long-running original serialised drama that defines the so-called golden age of television. So when its new drama The Night Of launches this Sunday in the US (and later in the year on Sky in the UK), it may come as a surprise that there are a few departures from the usual formula. First off, it’s a limited series, comprising just eight episodes. It’s also a rare adaptation for the network, based on the UK series Criminal Justice, penned by Peter Moffat for the BBC in 2008. And while other network stalwarts have been more layered in terms of genre (think True Detective’s mysticism and murder or The Sopranos’ psychiatry and mafia combo), The Night Of is a straightforward crime genre piece. HBO is no stranger to bucking the trend, and perhaps this slight change of direction is what is required for the pioneering network, amid a saturated drama market and increased competition from Netflix, Amazon and other SVoD services. The network has been promoting the show during season six of its flagship hit Game of Thrones, the recent conclusion of which leaves a gaping hole in the channel’s schedule. And, with the recent exit of programming boss Michael Lombardo, the cancellation of Vinyl and a stumbling performance from True Detective’s second season, as they say in Westeros, winter could be coming. Yet … Continue reading Bright Lights, Gritty City
