Oz

HBO | Release Date: July 12, 1997
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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60
New York Daily NewsEric MinkMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: The problem is people; the characters are interesting, but that's pretty much as far as it goes. Whether they live, die, are brutalized, treated fairly or unfairly it all comes at you in such a rush that you don't know what to make of it, if anything...That's a serious flaw, although there are signs in the first two episodes that the problem could be remedied as the series proceeds. If it is and I'm intrigued enough to keep watching my like could conceivably turn to love. [10 July 1997, p.106]
60
Los Angeles TimesHoward RosenbergMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: Its uniqueness and arresting style don't earn it an unqualified endorsement here, for its first two Fontana-written episodes are absolute downers--there's no light at the end of a tunnel, nor even a tunnel--that offer no central characters to like or pull for...Be forewarned, too, that Oz is flat-out the most violent and graphically sexual series on TV. By contrast, it makes ABC's "NYPD Blue" look and sound like dancing Barney. [12 July 1997, p.F2]
50
VarietyRay RichmondMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: A bleak, agonizingly downbeat and occasionally over-stylized vision of prison existence. It's about as pretty as a decaying corpse, and there is no one to root for. [11 July 1997]
40
Orlando SentinelHal BoedekerMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: The series offers undeniable shock value - it's a Scared Straight! for adults. But for all its technical dazzle and bracing content, Oz never overcomes a dramatic hurdle: It's nearly impossible to care about the characters. [12 July 1997, p.E1]
40
Deseret NewsScott D. PierceMay 15, 2013
Season 1 Review: Oz is well-written, well-acted, well-directed and full of superior production values...I don't like it. It's billed as a realistic look at prison life, and I'm in no position to dispute that ; I've never served time. Oz is certainly graphic, gritty and bleak. It is also unpleasant to watch. Where is the entertainment value in something this unremittingly dark and unpleasant? [12 July 1997, p.C01]