There were plenty of laugh out loud moments, particularly at the ridiculousness of the opening introductions (which got more and more crazy as the series progressed with inmates dressed up in costumes and mugging to the camera), and the points were people “lost it” big time.ĭid you know that Peter Dinklage, he now of Game of Thrones fame (as Tyrion, the Lannister imp) was in an episode? In a Head to head with The Sopranos, I guess Oz would always come off with a bloodied nose and a spell in solitary, but it’s not far behind in terms of quality acting, plots, black humour, and turn away nastiness (we’re talking immolation, anal impropriety, and face-dumping, as well as the usual hackings, slashing and beatings). Some of its episodes were fillers, but there was usually enough plot twists, violence, and bizarre episodes to keep you engaged. Why Oz? “Oz” is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, formerly Oswald State Penitentiary, the fictional maximum-security prison (level 4) in an unnamed US state.The nickname “Oz” is a reference to the classic film The Wizard of Oz, which is notable for popularizing the phrase: “There’s no place like home”. The interaction of the various gangs is a feature of the series, all jostling to be the top dogs that’s the latinos, the Mafia, the Homies, the Irish, the Bikers, the White Supremacists, the Muslins, the trannies (transvestities), the Bible-Bashers- to name just a few! Inevitably most of the best characters are the inmates, but there are one or two others who give great characterisation.

It features a bunch of mostly bad-ass characters all trying to run various scams and rackets, usually involving drugs, while banged up in a maximum security institution. The series finale aired February 23, 2003. Oz premièred on Jand ran for six seasons. It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. He also wrote or co-wrote all of the series’ 56 episodes. Oz, the violent, funny and sometimes moving Prison television drama series was created by Tom Fontana.

Oz tv series old