| Oz | |
|---|---|
The cast of Oz |
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| Format | Drama |
| Created by | Tom Fontana |
| Starring | Harold Perrineau Jr. Lee Tergesen J.K. Simmons Eamonn Walker Dean Winters Kirk Acevedo Christopher Meloni Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Ernie Hudson Terry Kinney Rita Moreno B.D. Wong Lauren Vélez Kristin Rohde Edie Falco Kathryn Erbe Mark Margolis Scott William Winters Luis Guzman Leon Robinson Luke Perry Tony Musante Robert Clohessy David Zayas J.D. Williams Evan Seinfeld Lance Reddick muMs da Schemer |
| Country of origin | |
| No. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Tom Fontana (born on September 12 1951 in Buffalo New York) is an American Writer and producer TV Career Lee Allen Tergesen (born July 8, 1965) is an American Actor. He is known for his role as Tobias Beecher in HBO Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) billed as J K Simmons, is an American Actor. Eamonn Walker (born 12 June 1962 in London) to a Grenadian father and a Trinidadian mother is an English Film Dean Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Ryan O'Reily on HBO 's Kirk Acevedo (born November 27, 1974) is an American Actor of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent Christopher Peter Meloni (born on April 2, 1961) is an American Emmy -nominated Actor known for his near opposite roles as the protective Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (born 22 August 1967 is an English Actor, Solicitor and former male fashion model. Ernest Lee Hudson (born December 17 1945) is an American Actor. Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company with Gary Sinise and Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress Bradley Darryl “BD” Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American Tony Award -winning Actor, best-known for his role in the Broadway Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez Kristin Rohde is an American actress who played Officer Claire Howell in Oz. Edith "Edie" Falco ( born July 5, 1963) is a three-time Emmy award-winning American television film and stage actress, known Kathryn Erbe (born July 2 1966 She graduated from New York University in 1989 Mark Margolis (born 26 November 1939) is an American actor who has been making movies since 1976 Scott William Winters (born August 5, 1965) is an American actor For the other Puerto Rican actor of the same name see Luis Roberto Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Leon Preston Robinson IV (born March 8, 1962) usually credited as simply Leon, is an American Actor and Singer, who began Luke Perry (born Coy Luther Perry III on October 11, 1966, in Mansfield Ohio)is an American Actor. Tony Musante (born June 30, 1936) is an American actor Musante was born Anthony Peter Musante Jr Robert Clohessy (born June 10, 1958) is an American actor known for playing Correctional Officer Sean Murphy on the HBO drama Oz David Zayas is a Puerto Rican American theatrical film and television actor See J D Williams (film JD Williams (born May 22, 1978 in Newark New Jersey) is an American actor Evan Seinfeld (born December 29 1967 in Staten Island New York) is an adult film Actor, director and Hardcore punk Vocalist Lance Reddick is an American actor born in Baltimore Maryland. muMs da Schemer (b Craig Grant in New York City in 1963 is a Poet and actor best known for his role as Arnold The United States of America —commonly referred to as the of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 56 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approximately 60 mins (commercial-free) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | HBO |
| Original run | July 12, 1997 – February 23, 2003 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes. The following is a list of the episodes of the HBO Television Drama, Oz. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Dramatic programming is Television content that is scripted and (normally fictional Tom Fontana (born on September 12 1951 in Buffalo New York) is an American Writer and producer TV Career It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by HBO. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic It aired for six seasons between 1997 and 2003.
Oz is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison of undisclosed location. Many of the plot arcs are set in Emerald City ("Em City"), an experimental unit of the prison in which the unit manager attempts to emphasize rehabilitation and learning responsibility during incarceration. Mythos (Aristotle In literature the plot comprises all the events in a story particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular Artistic or Emotional Emerald City is a controlled environment where there are a limited number of members of each racial and social group.
The large ensemble cast included Rita Moreno, Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney and Betty Buckley; later Law & Order stars Kathryn Erbe, Christopher Meloni, B. D. Wong, J. K. Simmons, Dean Winters and Kirk Acevedo; Lost stars Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Harold Perrineau Jr.; Dexter stars Erik King, David Zayas, and Lauren Vélez. An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress Ernest Lee Hudson (born December 17 1945) is an American Actor. Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company with Gary Sinise and Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is a Tony Award -winning American Theater, Film, and Television The term " Law & Order franchise" is commonly used to describe a number of related American Television programs created by Dick Kathryn Erbe (born July 2 1966 She graduated from New York University in 1989 Christopher Peter Meloni (born on April 2, 1961) is an American Emmy -nominated Actor known for his near opposite roles as the protective Bradley Darryl “BD” Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American Tony Award -winning Actor, best-known for his role in the Broadway Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) billed as J K Simmons, is an American Actor. Dean Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Ryan O'Reily on HBO 's Kirk Acevedo (born November 27, 1974) is an American Actor of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (born 22 August 1967 is an English Actor, Solicitor and former male fashion model. Dexter is an American Television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television Erik King is an American Film, television and stage Actor, known for his portrayal of Sgt David Zayas is a Puerto Rican American theatrical film and television actor Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez ; The Sopranos Edie Falco. The Sopranos is an American Television drama series created by David Chase. Edith "Edie" Falco ( born July 5, 1963) is a three-time Emmy award-winning American television film and stage actress, known Many of the actors from Oz have appeared as guest stars on The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Black Donnellys, New York Undercover, 24, Lost, the TV series Dexter, and in the various Law & Order series. Homicide Life on the Street is an American Television Police procedural series chronicling the work of a fictional Baltimore The Black Donnellys is an American Television Drama that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007 and last aired New York Undercover is a one-hour police drama that ran on the FOX network from 1994 to 1998. 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action Drama Television series. Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series. Dexter is an American Television drama series based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and adapted for television Law & Order is an American Police procedural and Legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf.
Contents |
Oz is narrated by Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau), a former drug dealer and ex-junkie. Augustus Hill is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the American Television show Oz. Now confined to a wheelchair, he appears in surreal segments or introductions that usually relate to an overall theme of the episode, setting up scenes, introducing characters, or adding epilogues. When necessary, usually when a character is introduced, Hill appears omniscient, as a tool of the writers, and narrates the details of character's lives, their prison number, their crimes, and sentences. Hill appeared as a recurring character within the shows' story lines until the sixth season, in which narration was taken up by various deceased characters, and Hill as well. The narrations by Hill are thus a form of breaking the fourth wall. The fourth wall is the imaginary wall at the front of the stage in a Proscenium Theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play He did not address the camera during scenes where he was interacting with the other characters in the story. Once in the show Hill appeared to address another character with one of his narrations: in the season 3 episode "Unnatural Disasters" Adebisi turns on a computer to see Hill dressed as a pharaoh speaking to him. (However, the unusual sight is quickly discarded by him as a drug-induced hallucination, and he never speaks of it. )
The narration made by Augustus Hill over the series is similar in both purpose and execution to the role of the Greek chorus in Ancient theatre, both providing plot exposition, as well as commenting upon the events of the stories, giving the audience a clearer understanding of the narrative's moral/thematic standpoint. The Greek chorus ( choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek Dithyrambs and Tragikon drama in tragic plays of the ancient
Oz's initial starring cast consisted of 14 actors. The characters of Oz are a diverse mixture of inmates from various gangs and prison staff Four of these were credited as "Starring": Ernie Hudson as Leo Glynn, the warden of Oz, Terry Kinney as Emerald City unit manager Tim McManus, Harold Perrineau as prisoner Augustus Hill, the narrator, and Eamonn Walker as new inmate and devout Muslim Kareem Said. Ernest Lee Hudson (born December 17 1945) is an American Actor. Leo Glynn (played by Ernie Hudson) is the warden of the Oswald state correctional facility on the HBO drama Oz. Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company with Gary Sinise and Tim McManus is a fictional character on HBO 's prison drama Oz, played by Terry Kinney. Eamonn Walker (born 12 June 1962 in London) to a Grenadian father and a Trinidadian mother is an English Film Kareem Saïd is a character played by British Actor Eamonn Walker on the American Television show Oz. Credited as "Also Starring" were: Edie Falco as correctional officer Diane Wittlesey, Rita Moreno as prison counselor Sister Peter Marie Reimondo, Kirk Acevedo as Latino inmate Miguel Alvarez, Leon Robinson as prisoner Jefferson Keane, J.K. Simmons as prisoner Vernon Schillinger, the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood in Oz, Tony Musante as incarcerated mafia boss Nino Schibetta, Lee Tergesen as another new inmate called Tobias Beecher, Sean Whitesell as cannibalistic inmate Donald Groves, Dean Winters as manipulative Irish inmate Ryan O'Reily, and B.D. Wong as the prison chaplain Father Ray Mukada. Edith "Edie" Falco ( born July 5, 1963) is a three-time Emmy award-winning American television film and stage actress, known Officer Diane Wittlesey is a fictional character played by Edie Falco on the Television program Oz. Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress Sister Peter Marie Reimondo aka Sister Pete is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz played by Rita Moreno. Kirk Acevedo (born November 27, 1974) is an American Actor of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent Miguel Alvarez is a Fictional character played by American Actor Kirk Acevedo on the Television show Oz. Leon Preston Robinson IV (born March 8, 1962) usually credited as simply Leon, is an American Actor and Singer, who began Jefferson Keane is a fictional character in the HBO prison drama Oz played by American actor Leon Robinson. Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) billed as J K Simmons, is an American Actor. Vernon Schillinger is a fictional character played by American actor J Tony Musante (born June 30, 1936) is an American actor Musante was born Anthony Peter Musante Jr Antonio "Nino" Schibetta, played by Tony Musante, is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz. Lee Allen Tergesen (born July 8, 1965) is an American Actor. He is known for his role as Tobias Beecher in HBO Tobias Beecher is a fictional character on the Television show Oz, played by American actor Lee Tergesen. Donald Groves is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama Oz, played by Sean Whitesell Dean Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Ryan O'Reily on HBO 's Ryan O'Reily is a fictional character in the television series Oz. Bradley Darryl “BD” Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American Tony Award -winning Actor, best-known for his role in the Broadway Father Ray Mukada is a character on the HBO television series Oz, played by B During the season, Robinson and Whitesell left after their characters were executed and Musante left following his character's murder.
Season two saw several new additions. Recurring guest stars Lauren Vélez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and George Morfogen joined the main cast. Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (born 22 August 1967 is an English Actor, Solicitor and former male fashion model. George Morfogen (born March 30, 1933) is an American Actor. He is known for playing Bob Rebadow in the HBO show Vélez played prison doctor Gloria Nathan, Akinnuoye-Agbaje played the leader of the Homeboys gang, Simon Adebisi and Morfogen played long-term inmate Bob Rebadow. Dr Gloria Nathan is a Fictional character played by Lauren Vélez, on the HBO drama Oz. Simon Adebisi is a character played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the HBO dramatic series Oz, set in an experimental prison unit Robert 'Bob' Rebadow is a Fictional character from the Television series Oz played by George Morfogen, a drama series on HBO Also, Acevedo, Moreno, Simmons, Tergesen and Winters joined Hudson, Kinney, Perrineau and Walker as the top billed cast-members.
Season three saw Akinnuoye-Agbaje receive top billing, with new additions Kathryn Erbe as Shirley Bellinger, who was on death row for killing her daughter, Luis Guzman as Latino gang-leader Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez, Mark Margolis as mob boss Antonio Nappa, and Christopher Meloni as Beecher's love interest Chris Keller, all of which had been recurring guests the previous season. Kathryn Erbe (born July 2 1966 She graduated from New York University in 1989 Shirley Bellinger is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz played by Kathryn Erbe. For the other Puerto Rican actor of the same name see Luis Roberto Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz played by Luis Mark Margolis (born 26 November 1939) is an American actor who has been making movies since 1976 Antonio Nappa was a Fictional character played by Mark Margolis on the HBO dramatic series Oz. Christopher Peter Meloni (born on April 2, 1961) is an American Emmy -nominated Actor known for his near opposite roles as the protective Chris Keller is a Fictional character on the HBO series Oz, portrayed by Christopher Meloni from 1998 to 2003 Falco left at the end of the season, and Margolis left when his character was murdered.
Season four featured 10 "Starring" and 14 "Also Starring" cast members throughout the season. New additions were: Betty Buckley as Suzanne Fitzgerald, Ryan O'Reilly's mother and the Emerald City music teacher; Anthony Chisholm as Hill's mentor and stepfather Burr Redding; Rick Fox as basketball champion Jackson Vahue; Zeljko Ivanek as Governor James Devlin; David Johansen as Jewish inmate Eli Zabitz; Brian F. O'Byrne as Provisional IRA terrorist Padraig Connolly; Luke Perry as Jeremiah Cloutier, a reverend who was arrested for embezzling funds from his church; and Scott William Winters as the brain-damaged brother of Ryan, Cyril O'Reilly. Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is a Tony Award -winning American Theater, Film, and Television Anthony Chrisholm is an American Actor. He is a combat Vietnam veteran who reached the rank of Drill sergeant. Burr Redding (played by Anthony Chisholm) is one of Oz's oldest inmates Ulrich Alexander "Rick" Fox (born July 24 1969 is a Canadian television actor and retired professional Basketball player Jackson Vahue is a fictional character from the HBO prison drama Oz played by Rick Fox, a former NBA basketball star and champion with the Los Angeles Željko Ivanek ( born August 15, 1957) is an Emmy Award -winning American Television, Film Governor James Devlin is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Željko Ivanek. David Johansen (born January 9 1950, in Staten Island, New York) is an American rock, punk, Blues Eli Zabitz is a fictional character played by David Johansen, on the HBO prison series Oz. Brían Flynn O'Byrne (born 1967 is an Irish theatre and film actor who works mostly in the United States. Padraig Connolly, played by Brian F O'Byrne, is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz Luke Perry (born Coy Luther Perry III on October 11, 1966, in Mansfield Ohio)is an American Actor. Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama Oz, played by Luke Perry Scott William Winters (born August 5, 1965) is an American actor "Cyril O'Reilly" redirects here For the character from the television series Oz, see Cyril O'Reily.
Oz took advantage of the freedoms of premium cable to show material that would be too extreme for traditional American broadcast television: coarse language, drug use, violence, male frontal nudity, homosexuality, rape, ethnic and religious conflict. Tom Fontana (born on September 12 1951 in Buffalo New York) is an American Writer and producer TV Career Barry Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an Academy Award -winning American Screenwriter, Film director, Actor Irene Burns is an American Television producer who has worked on shows such as 30 Rock and Oz. Adam Bernstein (born May 7, 1960) is an American film, music video and Television director and Scriptwriter. The following is a list of the episodes of the HBO Television Drama, Oz. Premium television (sometimes Pay television in North America) generally refers to a class of commercial-free Television services which In Australia, Oz was screened on the free-to-air channel SBS. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS is one of two government-funded Australian Public broadcasting radio and television networks, the other being the This was also the case in Israel, where Oz was displayed on the free-to-air commercial Channel 2, in Italy where it was aired on the free-to-air Italia 1, in the United Kingdom where Channel 4 aired the show late at night, in Ireland on TG4 where it was shown at 11pm, and in Brazil, where it was aired by the SBT Network Corporation, also late at night. Italia 1 is an Italian commercial Television station on the Mediaset network Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began TG4 ( Spoken as TG Ceathair or TG a Ceathair; tiː dʒiː kʲahəɾʲ is a Television channel in Ireland, aimed In The Netherlands, Oz aired on the commercial Channel RTL 5 and in Sweden and Norway, Oz aired on the commercial channels TV3 and ZTV late at night, and in Finland, on the free-to-air channel Nelonen (TV4). The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands RTL 5 is the 2nd channel of the RTL Group in the Netherlands. TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat 's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. ZTV is also available in Norway see ZTV Norway ZTV is a television channel broadcast by Viasat to Sweden Nelonen is a Finnish commercial TV channel It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1989 on the HTV cable network which name was changed In Canada, Oz aired on the Showcase Channel at 10pm EST. Showcase is a Canadian English language Cable television Specialty channel owned by CW Media (a division of Canwest and GS Capital In Denmark, Oz appeared late night on the non-commercial public service channel DR1. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe DR1 is a Danish national Television channel, produced by the public service broadcaster, Danmarks Radio (DR In Spain the show aired on Canal+, a premium channel. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Canal+ ("Canal Plus" "C+" meaning "Channel Plus/More" in French is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984 In Estonia, as well as Croatia, the show was aired late at night on public non-commercial state-owned channels, ETV and HRT, respectively. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Eesti Televisioon ( ETV) is the national public Television station of Estonia. Croatian Radiotelevision (Hrvatska radiotelevizija HRT is a Croatian Public broadcasting company In Bosnia and Herzegovina it was aired on the federal TV station called FTV. Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина is a country on the Balkan In Portugal Oz aired late at night on SIC Radical, one of the SIC channels in the cable network. SIC Radical is a Cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC which also owns SIC Comédia SIC - Sociedade Independente de Comunicação is a Portuguese Television network and a media company which runs several television channels In France the show aired on a commercial cable channel 'Serie Club', also late at night. In Turkey, Oz was aired on Cine5, DiziMax also aired the re-runs. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Cine5 is the first subscription based television channel in Turkey. DiziMax is a channel available on the Turkish Satellite television provider Digiturk. In Serbia, Oz was aired on RTV BK Telecom. Radio-televizija Braća Karić Telekom ( Serbian Cyrillic: Радио Телевизија Браћа Карић Телеком RTV BK Telecom) was a privately-owned In Panama, Oz was aired on RPC Channel 4 in a latetime hour. In India, reruns of Oz are aired on Zee Cafe in the late night slot (11 pm IST), albeit with some scenes deleted and adult language "muted" out. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Zee Café is an Indian English language television channel It was launched on March 15 2000 as Zee English. Indian Standard Time ( IST) is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a Time offset of UTC+530.
The program's seasonal length (eight episodes, Seasons 1, 2, 3, 5, 6; sixteen episodes, Season 4) is an example of a trend for cable network programming to feature shorter seasons than American free-to-air channels, which typically feature more than twenty episodes per season.
The series was co-produced by HBO and Rysher Entertainment, and the underlying US rights lie with HBO, which has released the entire series on DVD in North America. Rysher Entertainment is the owner of TV and Film programming content primarily distributed around the world by CBS Television Distribution and CBS The international rights were owned originally by Rysher, then Paramount Pictures/Television after that company acquired Rysher. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Paramount Television was an American Television production / distribution Company that was active from December 1967 to January CBS Paramount International Television currently owns the international TV rights, and Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS DVD owns the international DVD rights (the first four seasons have been released outside the US. CBS Paramount Television (formerly Desilu Productions, Paramount Television, among other companies is an American Television production CBS Paramount International Television ( CPITV) was a multinational television production/distribution arm of CBS Paramount Television and owned by Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. CBS Home Entertainment is the new Home video entertainment arm of CBS Corporation. The fifth season is scheduled for a June 2008 Release outside of the US).