Oz

1997–2003 · Ended · 6 seasons · 56 episodes · Crime, Drama · United States

Creator Tom Fontana · Channel HBO · Starring Lee Tergesen, Harold Perrineau, Dean Winters

Life's not a word. It's a sentence.

The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.
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Episodes

8 episodes · July 1997 – August 1997
  1. Episode 1: 1. The RoutineJuly 12, 1997 · 56 min
    In the "Emerald City" experimental unit of Oswald State Penitentiary, we meet some of the diverse inmates who live within a pecking order of Homeboys, Latinos, Muslims, Irish, Aryans, and Wiseguys. No clear-cut leader emerges—with the possible exception of Kareem Saïd, a Muslim author who preaches non-violence and abstinence. Saïd's arrival doesn't prevent a short-fused Mafia inmate named Dino Ortolani from ticking off just about everybody—a habit that ends up burning him.
  2. Episode 2: 2. Visits, Conjugal and OtherwiseJuly 14, 1997 · 57 min
    With Schibetta and the prison brass in a race to uncover Ortolani's killer (for very different reasons), we see how inmates react to visits from both their wives and, in one case, family members who are also in prison.
  3. Episode 3: 3. God's Chillin'July 21, 1997 · 57 min
    As friction grows in the wake of increasing deaths, Schibetta, Saïd, and Keane are brought together by Glynn, who tells them to keep their respective groups quiet or else he'll lock the prison down. The tension increases following a visit from Governor Devlin, who was responsible for the ban on smoking and conjugal visits.
  4. Episode 4: 4. Capital PJuly 28, 1997 · 57 min
    Governor Devlin has reinstated capital punishment in the state, and the first Oz prisoner scheduled to die is Keane.
  5. Episode 5: 5. Straight LifeAugust 4, 1997 · 57 min
    The infiltration of drugs into Oz has reached unprecedented levels, and the undercover efforts of McManus and Glynn to find out who's smuggling them in backfires in a deadly way. Despite a lockdown in Emerald City, the drugs continue to trickle in—and the blame shifts from prisoners to corrupt officials.
  6. Episode 6: 6. To Your HealthAugust 11, 1997 · 57 min
    Three generations of Alvarezes—all prisoners at Oz—are united when the partiarch, Ricardo, is found face down in his cell, suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Meanwhile, Beecher, who as Schillinger's "prag" has been forced to wear women's clothes, flips out after taking PCP.
Show 2 more episodes
  1. Episode 7: 7. Plan BAugust 18, 1997 · 56 min
    A recovered Saïd ostracizes Mershah for turning his back on him when he was dying—and orders the rest of the Muslims to do the same. Impressed by Saïd's power, Groves makes a deadly decision in his honor. Meanwhile, Beecher, transformed by prison life, finally gets revenge on Schillinger.
  2. Episode 8: 8. A Game of CheckersAugust 25, 1997 · 57 min
    Beecher is released from the hole and Schillinger is left eyeless and weak. A riot breaks out after two white punks get into a fight over checkers. Frustration, sexuality, hate, revenge, racism all rear their ugly heads, causing the violence to escalate.

Trailers and images

Credits

Film and series details

EPISODE LENGTH
60 minutes
FIRST AIRED
July 12, 1997
LAST AIRED
February 23, 2003
PRODUCTION COMPANIES
The Levinson/Fontana Company, Rysher Entertainment

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