HBO releases intense teaser for James Gandolfini passion project The Night Of

The limited series is an adaptation of 2008 BBC drama Criminal Justice

In the year of his death, James Gandolfini was in the process of greenlighting a U.S. adaptation of BBC drama Criminal Justice which he planned to produce and star in himself.

It's a token of the broadcaster's gratitude to the actor for his seminal work on beloved series The Sopranos that it continued plans to bring the show to TV screens following his untimely passing.

Jump forward three years, and the crimes series - now called The Night Of - has its first teaser.

The limited series follows an attorney who finds himself caught up in the case of a Pakistani man named Naz, charged with murdering his girlfriend. HBO's website explains the series will track "a fictitious murder case in New York City" from the investigation and questioning stages through to the accused's banishment to Riker's Island.

Replacing Gandolfini in the lead role is John Turturro who will star opposite Rogue One actor Riz Ahmed and Amara Karan (Stan Lee's Lucky Man).

HBO alumni Michael Kenneth Williams, Max Casella, J.D. Williams, and Paul Sparks will all appear having previously appeared in drama's The Wire, The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire respectively.

The series is being steered by reputable screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) with British filmmaker James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) set to direct a single episode.

Criminal Justice originally aired on the BBC in 2008; Ben Whishaw starred in the lead role. Maxine Peake joined the cast for playwright Peter Moffat's second series the following year.

The Night Of will air on HBO this July; a UK airdate is yet to be announced.