Oz: Season 1

1997 · 8 episodes · ★ 7.7

What Season 1 of Oz

Welcome to Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison or "Oz." As run by Tim McManus and overseen by Warden Leo Glynn. Em City is about prisoner rehabilitation over public retribution. No matter how hardened a criminal or killer, whether you're in for a few years or in for life, you have a role to play. Once inside, choose your friends carefully. Every group - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to mutual friends and terrorize mutual enemies. Don't smile. Get yourself a weapon. Stay on everybody's good side... if you can find one.

8episodes

Jul 12, 1997premiered

Aug 25, 1997final episode

7.6 hrtotal runtime

Season 1 Episodes

1x01 The Routine
Jul 12, 1997 · 56 min · ★ 8.0
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.
Directing: Darnell Martin · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, J.K. Simmons, Kirk Acevedo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
1x02 Visits, Conjugal and Otherwise
Jul 14, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 7.5
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.
Directing: Nick Gomez · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, J.K. Simmons, Kirk Acevedo, BD Wong
1x03 God's Chillin'
Jul 21, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 7.2
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.
Directing: Jean de Segonzac · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, J.K. Simmons, Kirk Acevedo, BD Wong
1x04 Capital P
Jul 28, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 7.5
Governor Devlin has reinstated capital punishment in the state, and the first Oz prisoner scheduled to die is Keane.
Directing: Darnell Martin · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, J.K. Simmons, Kirk Acevedo, BD Wong
1x05 Straight Life
Aug 4, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 7.6
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.
Directing: Leslie Libman, Larry Williams · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, J.K. Simmons, Kirk Acevedo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
1x06 To Your Health
Aug 11, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 8.2
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.
Directing: Alan Taylor · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Rita Moreno, Kirk Acevedo, Craig muMs Grant, BD Wong
1x07 Plan B
Aug 18, 1997 · 56 min · ★ 7.7
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.
Directing: Darnell Martin · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, J.D. Williams, Wood Harris, Zuill Bailey
1x08 A Game of Checkers Season Finale
Aug 25, 1997 · 57 min · ★ 7.9
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.
Directing: Jean de Segonzac · Writing: Tom Fontana · Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, J.D. Williams, Matt Ross, Zuill Bailey