Oz

Name: Oz
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 1997-07-12
Cast: Lee Tergesen, Harold Perrineau, Dean Winters, Eamonn Walker, Ernie Hudson

1997 | 6 seasons | 60 min | Crime, Drama

Saturday Special

Why it’s a Saturday Special

Critics loved it (93% on Rotten Tomatoes), it held a wide audience for several seasons and it's still drawing plenty of interest. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for crime-drama fans. If you loved MINDHUNTER or Prison Break, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
The mood: Dark and gritty.
The pace: 6 seasons and 56 episodes: a long-haul commitment, hour-long episodes, about 56 hours in all.
What might put you off: Rated TV-MA: expect drug use.
A big time investment at 6 seasons.
Audiences were cooler on it than critics.

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.

How it earned its rating

CriticsVery strong
93% on Rotten Tomatoes
AudiencesSolid
8.1 out of 10
AwardsNot counted
Awards data unavailable, so this isn't counted
Reach & staying powerStrong
Ran for 6 seasons and reached a solid audience; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactStrong
About 556K people sought it out in the past year

Season by season

The show overall is a Saturday Special. Here's how each season stacks up; Season 2 is the high point.

Season 11997 · 8 episodes · 80% on Rotten Tomatoes · 7.7 out of 10
Saturday
Season 21998 · 8 episodes · 100% on Rotten Tomatoes · 7.0 out of 10
Saturday
Season 31999 · 8 episodes · 100% on Rotten Tomatoes · 6.9 out of 10
Saturday
Season 42000 · 16 episodes · 6.9 out of 10
Weeknight
Season 52002 · 8 episodes · 6.9 out of 10
Weeknight
Season 62003 · 8 episodes · 92% on Rotten Tomatoes · 6.9 out of 10
Saturday