Television Review

THE NIGHT OF

Starring John Turturro, Riz Ahmed, Bill Camp, Poorna Jagannathan, Sofia Black D’Elia, Glenne Headly, Jeannie Berlin, Michael K. Williams, Paul Sparks, Max Casella, Ben Shenkman. On HBO, Sunday at 9 p.m.

Looks as though the TV drama of the summer, perhaps of the year, has finally arrived. “The Night Of,’’ HBO’s new eight-part limited series, which premieres Sunday at 9 p.m., is a remarkable piece of work, restoring meaning to overused adjectives such as “gripping’’ and “powerful.’’ It’s a crime procedural that builds tension slowly, and excruciatingly, and it makes its spiky points about this country gently but firmly, at times with sly dark humor. That James Gandolfini is listed in the title sequence as an executive producer — “The Night Of’’ was on the late actor’s to-do list — means the “Sopranos’’ star is now affiliated with another HBO jewel.

On one level, the series, set in an unromantic New York City, provides a broad vision of the American criminal justice system, as we watch the rickety wheels of the law and the police turn, randomly ruining lives. And on another level, it’s the particular story of a quiet 22-year-old Pakistani-American Muslim student — Nasir “Naz’’ Khan — who is accused of killing a white woman in her Upper West Side townhouse. Naz, his parents, his prison mates, the lawyers, the cops, the witnesses, they’re all finely drawn and beautifully acted. As Naz, at the center of all the unfolding action, actor Riz Ahmed is extraordinary, with his wide, deep eyes and artless demeanor.

In that intimate-epic way, “The Night Of’’ recalls some of David Simon’s work, most notably “The Wire.’’ You won’t be surprised to learn that the series was written by Richard Price, the novelist who wrote for “The Wire,’’ as it simultaneously presents both a wise portrait of how our urban systems fail us, how they breed rather than rehabilitate criminals, as well as a gritty look at characters from all different corners of the socio-economic, racial, religious, and moral universe. “The Night Of’’ has a simpler, more streamlined narrative than “The Wire,’’ and it’s less crowded as it zeroes in on one case, but still it evokes Simon’s social realism. Also, it features a couple of “Wire’’ actors, most notably Michael K. Williams, who played the anarchic Omar, as Naz’s Rikers Island mentor.

The first episode of “The Night Of’’ delivers on the title, as we see Naz, who’s lonely and trying to be more social, borrow his father’s cab to go to a party. These scenes are ridden with doom for the viewer; we know he’s heading into a situation that will spiral down when a troubled beauty named Andrea (Sofia Black-D’Elia) gets in the cab and asks for a ride. With each step of their journey together, each person they pass on the street, each dangerous move she cajoles Naz into making, we can see the case against him already building, the things that will likely show up later as evidence. We begin to feel like the jury. Price’s co-creator, Steven Zaillian, directs the first episodes tightly enough to make every interaction on the night of, every glance, register clearly and memorably.

After the murder, Naz is dragged into the nightmare of incarceration and bureaucracy. A lot of the material takes us through the mundane workings of a case, like the darkest, most elaborate episode of “Law & Order’’ ever, from the rivalries among the cops at the precinct to the lawyer’s financial negotiations with Naz’s poor parents. Naz and his family begin as trusting citizens, but we see their souls getting crushed by a long line of jaded cops and lawyers, one of whom, a prosecutor played by Jeannie Berlin, is made of steel. In one unbearable scene, Naz’s mother must submit to a rough body search under her bra in order to see Naz in prison.

It’s hard not to want to trust Naz’s unsophisticated and downtrodden lawyer, Jack Stone (John Turturro, in the role initially meant for Gandolfini). He’s as verbal as Naz is quiet, and Turturro makes him a figure of pathos and, at times, comedy. Jack suffers from eczema on his feet, which he scratches endlessly with a chopstick, a pencil, whatever’s at hand. He wears sandals to court, where everyone is always asking how his feet are. Also working the case: Detective Dennis Box (Bill Camp), a cop whose efforts to seduce Naz into giving up information are fascinating. “He’s a subtle beast,’’ Naz warns his parents.

Jack’s eczema is one of many little sly touches in the mostly straightforward “The Night Of,’’ which Price and Zaillian adapted from a 2008 British series called “Criminal Justice.’’ Along the way, a few characters have similar medical conditions, including Naz, who has asthma. Perhaps Price is suggesting they’re trapped in their bodies, as the scripts weave in references to caged animals. Even a conversation about a veal steak turns into a short reflection on lives spent with no room to move. These allusions add texture, without the kind of artsy pretentiousness that marred “True Detective.’’

HBO has been struggling in the drama department, as “Vinyl’’ recently bit the dust and “True Detective’’ turned into a fail in its second season. “Game of Thrones’’ is heading toward its final chapters. But here is a show that, at least for now, restores the channel’s reputation as a world-class storytelling voice.

THE NIGHT OF

Starring John Turturro, Riz Ahmed, Bill Camp, Poorna Jagannathan, Sofia Black D’Elia, Glenne Headly, Jeannie Berlin, Michael K. Williams, Paul Sparks, Max Casella, Ben Shenkman. On HBO, Sunday at 9 p.m.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.