Oz is an American prison drama television series set at a fictional men's prison created and principally written by Tom Fontana. It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by the premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997, and ran for six seasons. The series finale aired on February 23, 2003.

Tom Fontana is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street and created HBO's Oz.