Oz (1997)

Oz is a raw, uncompromising prison drama that drops viewers into the brutal, claustrophobic world of Emerald City — a special experimental unit inside Oswald State Correctional Facility. From the first episode you’re thrust into power struggles between rival inmate factions (gangstas, Muslims, Italians, Aryans, Latinos, bikers, and more), a thriving drug trade, corrupt and conflicted staff, and a tense daily grind where alliances shift and survival often demands cruelty. The series follows several central figures: Tim McManus, the idealistic unit manager trying to impose order and rehabilitation; Tobias Beecher, an educated “everyman” whose one mistake lands him in violent, dehumanizing circumstances; and a host of hardened inmates like Adebisi and Schillinger whose rivalries drive much of the conflict. Augustus Hill, an observant and philosophical inmate, frames each episode with direct-address monologues that give thematic context and deepen the show’s moral questions. Watching Oz is intense and often uncomfortable. Expect visceral violence, dark humor, bleak moral ambiguity, and moments of genuine emotional depth as characters evolve, betray, repent, or break. The storytelling is ensemble-driven and episodic yet serialized — relationships and feuds escalate across seasons, meaning that not all characters survive and the stakes continually rise. If you watch Oz, you’ll get a gritty, unflinching look at incarceration as a microcosm of society: power, race, religion, corruption, and the human capacity for both cruelty and redemption. It’s provocative television that challenges viewers rather than comforting them, with strong performances, complex characters, and a tone that’s equal parts thriller and hard-edged drama. Content warning: mature themes, graphic violence, strong language, sex, and drug use.

Actors: Ernie Hudson, J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

8.7 /10 8.7 /10