‘The Night Of’ season 2 could happen, writer explains

Could “The Night Of” on HBO be the next “American Crime” or “True Detective”? This summer series was meant to be a self-contained arc about Nasir’s arrest, investigation, and subsequent trial, but the strong reviews and solid ratings may be causing the network to think a little bit different about the future.

While at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on Sunday, show writer / director Steve Zaillian made it clear that (per TV Guide) there are at least some conversations happening about a second season:

“This was designed as a standalone piece … That being said, there are ways of certainly taking what it’s about and doing another season on another subject. We’re talking about it.”

Of course, the inherent fear of doing another season of this show is that you make a similar mistake to “True Detective” and rush something along before it is ready to air. Isn’t it possible that could happen again? One thing that may be different in this case is that the creative team may have already had more time to think about the future, given that this idea for a series was originally conceived years ago, back when James Gandolfini was the star and “Criminal Justice” was the title of the show.

We do think that a second season of this show will probably be ordered eventually; after all, remember that a renewal does not necessarily guarantee that you will get another batch of episodes right away. In some ways, you could follow the model of a “Sherlock” and release a new season every couple of years; or, you could do something similar to “Fargo” and simply take long breaks in between.