You wanna punish a man? Send him to Oz: the name on the street for the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary. Inmates at Oz are considered lucky if they get into the prison's 'Emerald City' experimental unit. They're considered even luckier if they get out of Emerald City alive. Season One of this gritty HBO drama series introduces some of the diverse inmates who live within a pecking order of Gangbangers, Latinos, Muslims, Westies, Aryans and Wiseguys. No clear-cut leader emerges--with the possible exception of Kareem Said, a Muslim author who preaches non-violence and abstinence. Meanwhile, tensions in Em City continue to increase with the governor's ban on smoking and conjugal visits--as well as his reinstitution of the death penalty. Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, Harold Perrineau and Eamonn Walker head up the ensemble cast.