I don’t think of it as a procedural. I think of it as a character study—a study of many characters, really.”

—STEVEN ZAILLIAN WRITER/ADAPTER/SHOWRUNNER/DIRECTOR THE NIGHT OF

“[The lawyers] see each other all the time. They’re not enemies. They’re in the same business, just like cops and bad guys…. They’re going to say, ‘Hey, how you doing? How’s the wife?’ That’s life. That’s real life.Everything is gray and if you don’t respect the gray, what you have is writing with crayons.”

—RICHARD PRICE WRITER/ADAPTER/SHOWRUNNER THE NIGHT OF

Chapter 2

The Slow-Burn, Season-Long Procedural

From Murder One and Twin Peaks to The Night Of, Fargo, Search Party and More

For decades, the most common TV series characters have been doctors, lawyers and cops, especially ...

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