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Season guide

Oz: Season 1

8 episodes Premiered Jul 12, 1997 Updated Jul 21, 2026

Oz season 1 is set in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison, also known as Oz. The unit is run by Tim McManus and overseen by Warden Leo Glynn. The focus of Emerald City is on prisoner rehabilitation rather than public retribution. The prisoners in the unit are from various groups, including Muslims, Latinos, Italians, and Aryans, and they tend to stick with their respective groups,

Season overview

Oz season 1 is set in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison, also known as Oz. The unit is run by Tim McManus and overseen by Warden Leo Glynn. The focus of Emerald City is on prisoner rehabilitation rather than public retribution. The prisoners in the unit are from various groups, including Muslims, Latinos, Italians, and Aryans, and they tend to stick with their respective groups, often terrorizing their enemies. The environment is harsh, and prisoners must be cautious in their interactions with others. The unit operates on the principle that every prisoner, regardless of their crime or sentence, has a role to play. The prisoners must navigate this complex and often hostile environment, where forming alliances and finding protection is crucial to survival. Emerald City is a unique approach to the prison system, prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment.

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Episodes

S1·E1

The Routine

Jul 12, 1997 · 56 min

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, Arya

S1·E2

Visits, Conjugal and Otherwise

Jul 14, 1997 · 57 min

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,

S1·E3

God's Chillin'

Jul 21, 1997 · 57 min

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 loc

S1·E4

Capital P

Jul 28, 1997 · 57 min

Governor Devlin has reinstated capital punishment in the state, and the first Oz prisoner scheduled to die is Keane.

S1·E5

Straight Life

Aug 4, 1997 · 57 min

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. D

S1·E6

To Your Health

Aug 11, 1997 · 57 min

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, w

S1·E7

Plan B

Aug 18, 1997 · 56 min

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 deadl

S1·E8

A Game of Checkers

Aug 25, 1997 · 57 min

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, re