The Night Of (2016)

Original Air Date: June 24, 2016

Starring: BamBam

Directed by: Steven Zaillian

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains MAJOR spoilers for this series!

Synopsis: A straight-laced college student named Naz (Riz Ahmed) takes his father’s cab to go to a party in New York and finds himself caught up in intrigue, drugs and murder in a night that forever changes his life.

Purr Blurs: During the opening credits a cat is seen walking on a street in an atmospheric shot.

The Night Of - cat on dark street from opening credits

Episode One: The Beach

Purr Blurs: Naz’s father Salim (Peyman Moaadi) runs outside to find his cab missing. A black cat can be seen in the upper corner of the screen.

The Night Of - black cat in background behind Salin Peyman Moaadi

Moments later an orange cat crosses the street behind him.

The Night Of - orange tabby cat crossing street behind Salin Peyman Moaadi

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The star of the series is an orange and white tabby cat who is featured throughout the episodes. Previously we reviewed the first episode, but we are replacing that entry to cover the entire series instead. (Note, this is a wonderful series and the ending is unforgettable, so we strongly recommend watching this show before reading this review to avoid spoilers!)

The nameless cat first appears sitting in a chair in Andrea’s (Sofia Black-D’Elia) apartment when Naz is invited inside.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat on chair

Naz explains that he is allergic to cats and so Andrea puts the kitty outside.

The Night Of - Andrea putting orange and white tabby cat outside

Naz then partakes in some drugs and sex with Andrea. The next morning he wakes up to find her dead and he is implicated in her murder, although he has no memory of what happened. His case is taken on by a lawyer named John Stone (John Turturro), a quirky ambulance chaser.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat outside apartment gate

Episode Three: A Dark Crate

Stone is looking through Andrea’s apartment for clues to help him defend Naz. While taking video on his cell phone, Stone opens the door to the outside and finds the cat sitting outside the gate.

Stone opens the gate and the cat enters, looking into its bowls for food then meowing hungrily. Stone gets some milk to give the cat.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat entering apartment with John Stone John Turturro and police guard

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat with empty bowls

The cat gratefully lies across Stone’s plastic wrapped feet (he suffers from eczema).

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat rubbing against John Stone's feet

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat rubbing against John Stone John Turturro plastic wrapped feet animated gif

Some time later, Stone is walking by the apartment and sees the cat locked outside the gate. John tells the cat he can’t take him because he is allergic.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat locked outside apartment gate

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat sitting outside apartment gate

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat outside closed apartment gate with John Stone John Turturro watching animated gif

Stone eventually shows up at an animal shelter wearing rubber gloves and carrying the cat in a box. The shelter worker (Bryan Burton) doesn’t give the cat much chance to be adopted because he is ugly (how anyone would think this cat is ugly is beyond us!) Stone asks how long they keep the animals before putting them down and the worker replies “Ten days.”

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat being brought to animal shelter by John Stone John Turturro

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat being taken into animal shelter

Episode Five: Season of the Witch

In this episode it’s clear the cat didn’t get adopted because Stone brings him home in a box and closes him in his son’s former bedroom.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat in box in apartment hallway with John Stone John Turturro

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat entering bedroom

He opens some cat food, puts in on a plate, then pushes the food into the room before closing the door quickly. Throughout the series, Stone tries to interest family and friends into adopting the cat with no luck.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat being given food in bedroom

This leads to one of the funniest moments in the series when Stone goes to a pet shop and buys a ton of toys. He then comes home and literally throws the mass of toys into the room on the cat then shuts the door. Moments later we hear the cat playing with a bell in a ball inside the room.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat in bedroom lying next to pile of cat toys

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat lying in bedroom as John Stone John Turturro throws in toys animated gif

Episode Six: Samson and Delilah

In this episode there is just one quick shot of Stone playing with the cat, shaking a toy outside the door with the cat reaching underneath to grab at it.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat paw reaching under doorway to play with toy

Episode Seven: Ordinary Death

Stone is having adverse reactions to having the cat in his apartment, including breaking out in a rash. He still interacts with the cat, however, wearing a mask and rubber gloves to pet and talk to the kitty.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat lying in bedroom with John Stone John Turturro in mask and gloves

Unfortunately Stone leaves the door open just slightly and the cat manages to get out of the room, joining Stone in bed. Stone wakes up in agony and hurriedly shuffles the cat back into the closed bedroom.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat prying open bedroom door

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat running down apartment hallway

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat squeezing through bedroom door and running down hallway animated gif

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat lying on bed with John Stone John Turturro

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat lying on bed with John Stone John Turturro waking up with allergies animated gif

Episode Eight: The Call of the Wild

The emotional final episode sees Stone returning the cat to the shelter. The worker is disheartened to see the cat return. “I’m not discussing it,” Stone states seriously before turning and walking out.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat in box watching John Stone John Turturro leave shelter

The final scene of the series is absolutely perfect and again we suggest watching this series to enjoy it for yourself. Stone is in his apartment and takes a call from a potential client. The television is on and an ad for the ASPCA is airing with heartbreaking shots of dogs and cats in shelters.

The Night Of - sick tabby kitten in ASPCA ad on television

Stone gets up and leaves the apartment. Moments later the cat walks past the hallway. It’s a perfect moment, sure to tug at the heartstrings of any cat lover.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat crossing apartment hallway

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat crossing apartment hallway animated gif

Behind the Scenes

The cat was played by BamBam and brought to director Steven Zaillian by Diane Bove and Dave Frischenmeyer. “I fell for Bam Bam right away, and so did everyone else, no one more so than John Turturro, which was important, obviously, since John would be acting with Bam Bam in far more scenes than anyone else. He was very fond of Bam Bam,” Zaillian explained in an article for Medium.com.

The Night Of - orange and white tabby cat lying on bed

Final Mewsings: Who doesn’t love a happy ending?

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