A series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.A series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.A series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 15 wins & 53 nominations total
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Storyline
OZ chronicles McManus' (Terry Kinney) efforts to control the inmates of Em(erald) City as well as the drug trade and the violence. There have been many groups of inmates during the run of the show and not everybody makes it out alive. There are the gangstas (Adebisi, Wangler, Redding, Poet, Keene, Supreme Allah), Muslims (Said, Arif, Hamid Khan), Italians (Pancamo, Nappa, Schiebetta), bikers (Hoyt), Aryans (Schillinger, Robson, Mark Mack), Christians (Cloutier, Cudney), Latinos (Alvarez, Morales, Guerra, Hernandez), gays (Hanlon, Cramer), and a pile of others (the O'Riley brothers, Keller, Stanislovsky, etc.). And a great "everyman" character called Beecher offers a good look at a normal man who made one tragic mistake. Besides the regular inmates, there are guest stars such as Method Man, Luke Perry, Master P, Treach, etc. and a bunch of prison staff doctors (Dr. Nathan), a nun/psychologist (Sister Peter Marie), a bunch of guards--some honest, some crooked--and, of course, the warden, Leo Glynn. The whole thing is narrated and held together by inmate Augustus Hill, who provides the show with context and some sense of theme, and ties everything together nicely. —LorgSkyegon
- Taglines
- You're inside now.
- Genres
- Certificate
- 18A
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaSome cast members that played prisoners have noted that, throughout the series, if you showed up late to the set, your punishment would be that your character would either die or be raped the next week.
- GoofsWhen Doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) talks to Ryan O'Reilly (Dean Winters) about his cancerous tumour in his chest, she says that the lump is "under the left nipple". However, he was clearly bleeding from the right nipple and ever clutching the right one while in the infirmary...
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Vern Schillinger: Niggers are up to something
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999)
Top review
Not only the best show on TV currently, but one of the best shows of all-time.
Consistently well-written and acted, Oz is without a doubt the best thing on TV. Quality wise, it's up there with the first 4 seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street as the most compelling hour of television drama. Presenting a harsh and realistic view of prison life, Oz is a wonderful mixture of superb acting and character development; all of which rides on a nuanced and erudite core (Foucault's Panopticon is the inspiration for Em City's design...and ultimate failure). It is the only show on TV, that I can think of, that has presented characters who were intensely dislikable one moment and oddly empathetic the next. That I am repulsed by, sympathetic with, intrigued about, and involved with every character that has lived, died or survived on the show, is no small feat. Good TV exists. And, for my money, Oz is not only good TV, it is better than most films released throughout the year.
helpful•13614
- Evan Locci
- Dec 4, 1998
Details
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 4:3
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