The Night Of

RIZ AHMED: THERE’S MORE TO HIM THAN MEETS THE EYE

Ever since we saw HBO’s magnificent The Night Of, we admit we have a little crush on Riz Ahmed. For 8 episodes we were mesmerized by his character’s evolution. Naturally, he’ll be a fixture on red carpets this season because we expect that brilliant series to nab quite a few awards. Happily, Riz is worthy of our affection – not only is he well educated, but he writes, acts, and raps. (Like most men he’s better looking without the facial hair, of course.) Still, he looks adorable at the premier of his latest movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Photo Credit: AKM-GSI

“THE NIGHT OF” ON HBO WILL BLOW YOU AWAY

Last night we innocently turned to HBO to glance at a new series “The Night Of” – with no particular expectations. We knew Richard Price was one of the writers and he wrote our favorite movie “The Wanderers.” INSTANTLY we were sucked into the story about a young college age guy from Queens – the son of Pakistani immigrants – eager to go to a party in Manhattan. He has one of those magical nights in the city – yes, drugs and a beautiful girl were involved- and he lands in jail, charged with an unspeakable crime. He looks like a deer in the headlights. The viewer cannot help but identify with this innocent character and the nightmare around him. (Isn’t it everybody’s nightmare that they are accused of a crime and sent to prison for something they didn’t do?) The fact that there are no big stars to interrupt makes the story seem even more real. We can’t remember the last time we couldn’t WAIT for episode 2 of anything. Don’t miss this!
Photo:HBO