What happens once you’re free? Written by Tom Fontana Starring Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters Directed by Christoph Schrewe Produced by Irene Burns and Ivan Fonseca
It's true. Someone recently posed a question on social media. "What's the first show that comes to mind when you think of HBO?" My answer was and is Oz.@@angusmerriweather1589
@@angusmerriweather1589when people say "The Sopranos and the Wire are the greatest shows ever made!" I always make sure to say "yeah, but if not for Oz, they don't happen.
@@TheStopmaybe with Bunk and McNulty, who else is still around? Maybe the kids from S4, Namond might be a cop, Michael still ripping and robbing drug dealers, Dukie might off the drugs after all these years and Randy is definitely a wild card not sure about him
The way insecure Ryan tried to bully weak Tobias only for him to turn it around was so on point, they both know each other so well and it actually felt like the characters. Great stuff
@@Provos7777 can you remind me what exactly is O'Reily's problem with Beecher? He was friendly to him in the first season to sell him drugs, they were kinda like buddies though O'Reilly didn't give a shit, then they barely interracted as far as a I remember
This show has a special place in my heart, but it wasn't the strongest of the HBO original series. There were some ridiculous storylines that were poorly written and executed. No need for anymore Oz.
I'm about to finish the series once again and the way that the "tense music" plays when Tobias says "in the electric chair" gave me goosebumps. We all agreed that we would love to see a reunion, movie, spin off etc
Tobias was the smartest guy in Oz in the sense of being book smart and Ryan was the smartest guy in Oz in the sense of being street smart. If these two get together as a crime unit to survive life after getting out of the prison, that's the show I'd like to see.
Can't believe I'm getting Oz content in 2024. Was my favorite show back in the day and I was annoyed how it ended. I remember he said he might write a story sometime in the future and never thought I'd get one 20 years later.
When I first saw this in my suggested feed I thought, "Damn it. The A.I. scum have come for my beloved Oz." But thankfully that was not the case. It was Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, two ex-cons, and a credited production crew showing up to entertain me with familiar faces, stories, and even a hint of music by the end. To everyone who made this: thank you.
This film is absolutely _unreal!_ The way Tergesen & Winters just step into their roles after all these years is stellar! I’m mesmerized by the return of O’Reilly & Beecher in this setting & of course Fontana’s lurid dialogue is captivating as ever! I especially love the references to the show! This is a dream come true! Thank you _so_ much for the sequel to *OZ!*
Mr. Tom Fontana: I sorely hope you continue this. It was so good to see where Beecher and O'Reily are at in 2024. You know we wondered for 21 years. Whoosh. This is great. It puts the characters in a position they've never been before. I would love to see where this branches off to. Thanks for this!
The faces, the voices, even the weird ethnic percussion in the end and suddenly It all came back to me, the feeling of watching a new OZ episode again. This was perfect, I hope they continue it. Although, I feel a little bad about Beecher and Ryan ending up as enemies. I liked when they were allies. I guess we'll never know what happened between them. Or will we?
He's a regular at the upscale deli my younger brother works at in San Diego. Makes me so jealous. But I did get to meet Gene Wilder while working at an Albertsons back in 2008 so I guess it's a fair trade.
I’m assuming their beef is over something that occurred after the finale. My money says Beecher discovered how Adebisi kept that hat on his head and refused to tell O'Reily.
While I wish they mentioned what I'm glad it happened offscreen. They were supposedly in prison for 20 extra years after the ending of course other shit would've went down since then
@@noahmclaughlin7921 good point. Beecher's original sentence was 15 years, and he did 5 or 6 during the series, when he went back to prison for parole violation he must have got more time for doing something else
@@jaroncreed Probably drug possession with the parole violation. He was bringing some drug to a friend of Keller's when Keller ratted him out. Then he likely got death row for Keller's death off the balcony in the finale.
Loved the video. However, it is a few years old, and judging by the number of views there is only a small niche of us Oz fans, not enough to bring the show back. Still, HBO could give it one last season after everything Oz did for them. This is the show that made them prestige television!
Because it's not being advertised properly. It should be promoted by literally everyone who was in the show. It's in everyone's best interests to bring the show back.
Absolutely no. Oz ended because Tom Fontana had run out of stories to tell, and this short certainly didn't show that he has come up with new ideas during the last 20 years.
Can we get more of this. I just finished watching OZ. This show came out when I was in high school but we didn't have cable. Im just getting around to watching it and I loved it and I hate that it's over. I needed this short film but it left me wanting more.
And now I want to know what happens... THANKS! Don't get me wrong, this was beautiful! But now I'm hooked again. Damn it. Gonna have to go back and watch the whole series again. Thanks for filming this guys.
For everyone wondering what feud they're talking about: from the way the dialogue is phrased, it would seem they're talking about something that happened after the end of the show but before this short.
Tom, I could not love this more. These two guys... damn! The script is dynamite, Christoph's work is great and I love that Irene and Ivan produced, too. Makes me want to come back for more. Lots more.
Wow this felt like a authentic continuation like they haven’t missed or skipped a single beat. The audio, the focus on one locked in location and the city backdrop setting, Dean wearing the clothes he was wearing when he was locked up, and even the actors still slip right back into their roles. I had a grin creep onto my face when I was Tobias start fighting back on the phone. Beecher and Ryan always were the most dangerous on the show. They weren’t exactly out of their way to be malicious but if you crossed them…
I ALWAYS thought Oz had so many great, Oscar caliber performances. But of course, prison is scary, especially back then, and a show that authentic, that visceral was a real hard pill for many to swallow. So, of course, Oz went on to be so underappreciated. But it definitely paved the road for The Wire, The Sopranos, and many other shows that would go on to get the recognition they deserved.
THANK YOU to Tom, Lee, Dean, & Christoph for doing this. I'm sharing this as much as possible, just hope it bears fruit in the vein of a resurgence of THE original HBO series that started it all.
This is magnificent. I love it. When I saw the thumbnail I didn't think it was real, I thought it was going to be some fan made crap using clips from the show and perhaps other things they've done. But this is wonderful. Well done.
In January my son and I did a five week binge of the entire series of OZ. I was unable to watch it in the day because it premiered when he was just 8 months old. I must say that it was kind of cool being able to watch it with him as an adult. 😎
A reboot couldn't work. Oz was a product of its time and utterly unique in its presentation and setting. If anything, the best course of action would be a continuation of this short or at least follow the lives of more Oz characters after (if) they got out
Where is the ghost of Augustus giving us the intro and set up into the subtext. "They say some people never learn, never love, never get over. They come back for the pain, pain is all they know. They were in jail and now they out chasing their tails." You know something like that. So where is Augustus? You can't have Oz without Augustus, but how does a ghost get older, damn that's a tough one. Good luck Tom, make it happen!
He could just do a voice-over narration. He doesn't need to be onscreen. That was never really necessary in the first place. He only should've appeared onscreen during the parts where his character had something to do.
I dont care what anybody says, OZ was a series that started it all for HBO. That series was OUTSTANDING and Broke ALL the RULES. Plus quite a few stars rose from that series. I would like to see an OZ spin-off if done right. This short film has its potential to start something. But lets put it together NOW.
Some people fell in line with the Soprano crew..... Some people decided to live life down to The Wire.... Or maybe a person decided to grab three friends, form an Entourage, or live the socialite's life in The City.... but us, the real OGs, we've been doing time in Oz and we know that there's no place like home.
12:16 Ryan O’Reilly’s “you’re no choir boy” logic is so absurd, acting like Tobias being raped in prison and biting a rapist’s dick is morally equivalent to O’Reilly murdering a man because he fell in love with the man’s wife. Their discussion of Cyril’s death makes me think about how Cyril was the one person showing Ryan O’Reilly’s humanity and without Cyril, it’s not surprising that O’Reilly would only sink lower. Really enjoyed this short! Makes me wanna rewatch Oz.
Ryan is a psychopath, always has been so he defends his horrible behavior. And what a crock that prison "made him that way". He was that way before he ever arrived in prison. He is underestimating Beecher though. When Beecher gets serious he can be just as psycho and dangerous.
@@elizabethcomly838 and it took traumatic brain damage for Cyril’s innocence to even be brought up. Becoming ‘slow’ is the cheat to become redeemed and innocent again.
Sarebbe stupendo riprendere la serie OZ, io l'ho vista quest'anno 2024 non la conoscevo in Italia non è tanto famosa ma l'ho trovata attuale e realistica come non mai. Viva OZ ed i suoi insegnamenti e viva Fontana per il suo coraggio di organizzare uno show di questo tipo, la realtà delle carceri. Ancge questo corto è toccante grandi e complimenti!!
Tom Fontana and HBO seriously need to reunite and create a reboot of Oz (1997-2003). It's been 21 years since Oz ended and we need to revisit Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary.
To the best of my recollection they both got along well for the entire series. After seeing this I'm watching Oz again to see if there's anything I've forgotten. In any case, more of these shorts, or even a limited series such as they did with Dexter would be great!
That was amazing, please bring something back or any kind of spin-off series. I’d absolutely watch anything put out for it at this point. I heard about this film a few years back and have wanted to see it ever since, with that my expectations have grown exponentially. Even that being said this still managed to exceed my expectations, a perfect Segway to whatever comes next
I remember about 97% of the show, but I cannot remember what brought these two to where they are right now. I remember Beecher and O'Reilly becoming friends, and then enemies over the whole arc of Beecher trying to save Jefferson Keane, to which O'Reilly opposed ("don't make trouble, or you'll be next!") but they resolved their situation quickly, and by the season finale Beecher even jumped people who were attacking O'Reilly. O'Reilly was visibly upset in the next season when he found out Schillinger and Keller hurt Beecher. Their relationship continued to evolve when O'Reilly and Beecher teamed up with Keller against Schillinger, as all three had a score to settle with Schillinger. When Cyril met his end, Beecher was one of the prisoners protesting against it and showing solidarity with the O'Reilly brothers, even though it was at a time where Beecher had every excuse to just sink into himself (the end of Cyril's arc happened right as Beecher, a free man, was arrested, convicted, and returned to Oz). There was even a plotline where Beecher and the O'Reilly brothers all signed up for an experiment that aged them. They were all in the trenches together. O'Reilly and Beecher were even cellmates in the season 1 finale. So with all of the different alliances, betrayals, forgiveness, and continued disagreements, what happened in later seasons that made them hate each other this much? I'm fighting to remember!
Maybe Beecher talked about the murders of Mondo Browne and Nate Shemin to somebody. I remember O'Reily and Keller both got heated at Beecher during that drug counseling meeting because Beecher alluded to them being responsible for the murders. But even that reason might be a stretch lol.
@@mynextdestination132they definitely did it right not telling what it was that happened between them. I do think they were close to being friends though, they had a common enemy in Schillinger and worked together against the Aryans several times. I hope for another short film continuing this story and unraveling the mystery.
Ryan telling beecher he's coming after him was not like is character. Ryan would plan is revenge by pretending to be is friend. He set beecher up & set him back to OZ. Also a phone call threatening him... Beecher is smart & as money & ex lawyer. It's shame because l though they had mature respect for each other. Ryan could have killed beecher anytime in OZ especially when Keller left. I think Beecher wins this because out in real world he as more alliances.
The only way I can remember where the tension between them started was in that session he had with Ryan and Keller during Adebisis final stunt. He more or less implicated out-loud that Keller and Ryan killed 2 people out-loud from Adebisi’s gang while those two were trying to overthrow him, Ryan was ready to fight Beecher and in a deleted scene he called Toby a prag in Kellers face.
Every so often since the year 2003 I wonder what happend to the beautiful twisted mind of Tom Fontana. MAX might not be its home anymore but I could see it on MGM or one of the up and coming streamers. We NEED more OZ related content.
Ryan O'Reilly was a one of the dozens of great characters on this show. I was happy to see so many of these actors get other roles. I today just realized the Fire Chief on Chicago Fire is Kareem Saiid. WE NEED A SPINOFF ASAP
@@AK99581 He actually would, too. McManus was the king of second chances. Even when an inmate tried to kill him, he always gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Dean Winter (O’Reilly) was my crush on this show. I love watching him as mayhem in the all state commercials. I would watch this if was made into a show.
It’d be cool if JK Simmons just starts haunting Beecher. Not as Schillinger, but as a man who resembles him, and constantly has encounters with Beecher on street. No idea if JK Simmons would ever return to that role or even as an apparition of it.
