Oz was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by HBO. The show, which aired for six seasons (1997-2003), is set in a maximum-security prison in an unspecified eastern state in America. The series was created by Tom Fontana and produced by Barry Levinson.

Oz is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility. Many of the plot arcs are set in Emerald City ("Em City"), an experimental unit of the prison, where the unit manager tries to emphasize rehabilitation and learning responsibility during incarceration. Emerald City is a controlled environment. There is a lmited number of members of each racial and social group (Muslims, Italians, Latinos, Gays, Nazis, Blacks, Irish and others). The microcosm of Emerald City is a metaphor for racial and economic struggles

Oz avoids any easy answers as to the origin of violence and criminality. Even the worst offenders are shown to have moments of humanity, while the supposedly "normal" characters come to commit their own atrocities.

The ensemble cast included many famous actors including Rita Moreno, Ernie Hudson, as well as Law and Order stars Kathrine Erbe , Christopher Meloni and B.D. Wong.

Oz is narrated by wheelchair-bound Augustus Hill (played by Harold Perrineau) in surreal segments that usually relate to an overall theme of the episode. Hill, a former drug dealer and ex-junkie, appeared as a recurring character in the show's storylines until the end of the 5th season, when he was killed (although he still narrated the show until the final episode). The narrations by Hill are thus a form of breaking the fourth wall, although he did not address the camera during scenes where he was interacting with the other characters in the story.

The major plotlines in Oz typically involved rivalries between the different prison gangs, which often resulted in murder and retaliation. There are some long-standing individual rivalries including the ongoing struggle between Vernon Schillinger (played by J.K. Simmons), Aryan Brotherhood leader, and Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen ), a family man jailed for killing a child while driving drunk.

Oz took advantage of the freedoms of cable television to show material that would be too extreme for traditional broadcast networks: coarse language, drug use, violence, male frontal nudity, homosexuality, rape, and ethnic and religious conflict. Interestingly, in Australia, Oz was screened on the relatively liberal-minded free-to-air channel SBS. This was also the case in Israel, where Oz was displayed on the free-to-air, commercial Channel 2 and the United Kingdom where Channel 4 aired the show late night.

Characters

Main Characters

Inmates

• Augustus Hill played by Harold Perrineau. Physically disabled, but socially astute. Narrator of the series, Hill represents

reason and logic.

• Miguel Alvarez played by Kirk Acevedo. Alvarez goes through a process of losing masculine credibility within the latino gang.
• Kareem Said played by Eamonn Walker . A Muslim leader with a lust for power and a conviction that other people's racism will absolve him.
• Ryan O'Reily played by Dean Winters . An Irish hoodlum , who does what it takes to survive. He is the only Irish inmate for most of the series and survives because he is an astute political player.
• Tobias Beecher played by Lee Tergesen . Beecher was a middleclass lawyer in denial until landing in prison forced him to

confront himself and become self-sufficient.

• Vernon Schillinger played by J.K. Simmons. Leader of the Aryan Brotherhood (Nazis), Schillinger commits atrocities against

other inmates because of race or sexual orientation. His behaviour demonstrates the prison system's indifference to humanity.

• Simon Adebisi played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje . Adebisi is a strong anachoring character. His flirtations with insanity and

religion are transient.

• Christopher Keller played by Christopher Meloni
• Cyril O'Reilly played by Scott William Winters . Mentally incapacitated in a gang fight, the treatment of Cyril reflects a

monstrous aspect of the prison system.

• Robert Rebadow played by George Morfogen
• Agamemnon Busmalis played by Tom Mardirosian
• James Robson played by R.E. Rodgers
• Jaz Hoyt played by Evan Seinfeld
• Chucky Pancamo played by Chuck Zito

Staff

Warden Leo Glynn played by Ernie Hudson

Tim McManus played by Terry Kinney

Sister Peter Marie played by Rita Moreno

Diane Wittlesey played by Edie Falco

Father Ray Mukada played by B.D. Wong

Dr. Gloria Nathan played by Lauren Velez

Claire Howell played by Kristin Rohde

Sean Murphy played by Robert Clohessy

External links

• Oz at HBO