"Oz" is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, formerly Oswald State Penitentiary, a fictional level 4 maximum-security state prison in New York. The nickname "Oz" is also a reference to the … See more

In an experimental unit of the prison, unit manager Tim McManus emphasizes rehabilitation and learning responsibility during incarceration, rather than carrying out purely punitive … See more

Oz took advantage of the freedoms of premium cable to show elements of coarse language, drug use, violence, frontal nudity, homosexuality, and rape of males, as well as ethnic and religious conflicts that would have been unacceptable to traditional advertiser … See more

Syndication
On April 21, 2009, Variety announced that starting May 31, DirecTV will broadcast all 56 episodes in their original form without commercials and in up-scaled "high definition" on The 101 Network available to all subscribers. The … See more

The series was co-produced by HBO and Rysher Entertainment (who owns the copyright), and the underlying U.S. rights lie with HBO Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment, which has released the entire series on DVD in North America. The international … See more

Critical reception
Critical reception of Oz was mostly positive. The first season of Oz has been ranked a 70 based … See more

VHS & DVD
The first two seasons of Oz were released on VHS in box sets. HBO Home Video has released all six seasons of Oz on DVD in Region 1 and … See more