The Night Of

Sunday at 9 p.m., HBO

I highly recommend giving this eight-episode limited series a try. From Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, it’s a gritty step-by-step drama about a quiet young Pakistani-American man in New York who wakes up after a drunken, drugged-out night to find himself in the presence of a dead white woman. We follow him through every step of the process, from his arrest to Rikers Island to his incendiary trial. The procedural drama has been overdone and cheapened on TV, especially on CBS; “The Night Of’’ is a great reminder of what the genre can accomplish when done with care. The show is like the most elaborate, most thought-provoking episode of “Law & Order’’ ever. While it follows the mundane details of Nasir “Naz’’ Khan’s fate in the American criminal justice system, it also provides a broad vision of how that system can fail us, how it is ridden with racial and religious bias, how it breeds rather than rehabilitates criminals. It has some of the rich social realism of a David Simon series.

Full Frontal With Samantha Bee

Monday at 10:30 p.m., TBS

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. Samantha Bee is the heir to Jon Stewart’s fury, if not his “Daily Show.’’ Her “Full Frontal’’ has turned out beautifully, as Bee and her staff take on both the latest news and, like John Oliver, long-standing issues. She’s a biting ironist who uses logic as her punch lines. As the election continues to unfold, and unfold some more, it’s a treat to watch Bee comment with directness and precision. I love the way she stands onstage through the show, using her entire body to express herself.

Animal Kingdom

Tuesday at 9 p.m., TNT

This series adaptation of the 2010 movie is far from Prestige Drama, but it’s a bit addictive. The setup is a twist on “Sons of Anarchy,’’ as it follows a crime gang of Southern California surfer man-boys. They’re led by Smurf, played with an iron first — and some creepy incestuous overtones — by Ellen Barkin (pictured). The crew includes Smurf’s three sons — one of whom is played by the fierce Shawn Hatosy — and her adopted son and protégé, Baz, played by Scott Speedman. All tanned pretty boys, the guys pull off heists, then get wasted with Mom and their girlfriends around the pool or go off surfing. No, they’re not a sympathetic collection of characters, but, as on “Sons of Anarchy,’’ they can be compelling in their twistedness.

Hell on Wheels

Saturday at 9 p.m., AMC

On Saturday, this western series ends after five seasons. I enjoyed “Hell on Wheels’’ for a while, because I was taken with the concept: former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon, looking for revenge after his wife and son are killed, winds up in a town that travels along with the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Eventually, I wandered away from the show as plot repetitions set in and other dramas beckoned. But I’ve talked to viewers who continue to love it. In the finale, according to AMC, the race to complete the railroad comes down to inches, while all the characters think about what the future holds for them.

MATTHEW GILBERT