"Oz" Cast Reunion at PaleyFest 2017 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 10-16-2017, 06:14 PM

"Oz" PaleyFest Reunion: Stars Talk Path HBO Series Paved for Scripted TV
by Farnoush Amiri
Oct. 16, 2017

Just a few months after celebrating the 20th anniversary of the show "Oz", the cast and crew reunited for the first time at PaleyFest New York to commemorate the work they did on the HBO show and how they were able to pull it off.

"Oz", which premiered in 1997 and aired its final season in 2003, marked the first one-hour drama series that HBO produced. It followed the lives and tribulations of the inmates and workers at a level-four maximum-security prison and explored controversial and then-untouched subjects and featured a cast full of some of today's biggest names.

Series creator Tom Fontana said the idea for the show grew out of him wanting to know what happened to the inmates in all the crime and police shows he watched.

“The point of the show then was in some terms examining the prison system, which is still highly relevant today,” Fontana said.

For Edie Falco, it was the first real paying job she had. “Oz was very important for me in that it gave me the ability to support myself,” Falco said of her three years on the drama. “It marked the reality of not having to go back to my restaurant job. That was big.”

Through "Oz", Falco went on to land her breakout role in "The Sopranos", which earned her two Golden Globes and three Emmys.

As for the subject matter explored on the show, cast member Dean Winters, who played menace Ryan O'Reily, said the series was a trailblazer.

“I think we were so far ahead of the curve that the country didn’t know how to take it,” Winters said. “We got a good reception, but for a show 20 years ago that had a Muslim as the lead, a gay love story, had a bad nun and all this crazy **** like the drugs and the violence, and then people talk about that today, and I’m like ‘We were doing that 20 years ago. Wake up!’.”

Lee Tergesen, who played inmate Tobias Beecher, said of "Oz'" ability to cover the show's subjects, “When Oz started 20 years ago there were three networks and Fox and that was about it. Nobody else was making these kind of shows, and it really pushed the envelope of television.”

Other cast members who've gone on to become well-known include J.K. Simmons, Christopher Meloni and Eamonn Walker.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...est-ny-1048988

10-16-2017, 06:14 PM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,045	"Oz" Cast Reunion at PaleyFest 2017 "Oz" PaleyFest Reunion: Stars Talk Path HBO Series Paved for Scripted TV by Farnoush Amiri Oct. 16, 2017 Just a few months after celebrating the 20th anniversary of the show "Oz", the cast and crew reunited for the first time at PaleyFest New York to commemorate the work they did on the HBO show and how they were able to pull it off. "Oz", which premiered in 1997 and aired its final season in 2003, marked the first one-hour drama series that HBO produced. It followed the lives and tribulations of the inmates and workers at a level-four maximum-security prison and explored controversial and then-untouched subjects and featured a cast full of some of today's biggest names. Series creator Tom Fontana said the idea for the show grew out of him wanting to know what happened to the inmates in all the crime and police shows he watched. “The point of the show then was in some terms examining the prison system, which is still highly relevant today,” Fontana said. For Edie Falco, it was the first real paying job she had. “Oz was very important for me in that it gave me the ability to support myself,” Falco said of her three years on the drama. “It marked the reality of not having to go back to my restaurant job. That was big.” Through "Oz", Falco went on to land her breakout role in "The Sopranos", which earned her two Golden Globes and three Emmys. As for the subject matter explored on the show, cast member Dean Winters, who played menace Ryan O'Reily, said the series was a trailblazer. “I think we were so far ahead of the curve that the country didn’t know how to take it,” Winters said. “We got a good reception, but for a show 20 years ago that had a Muslim as the lead, a gay love story, had a bad nun and all this crazy **** like the drugs and the violence, and then people talk about that today, and I’m like ‘We were doing that 20 years ago. Wake up!’.” Lee Tergesen, who played inmate Tobias Beecher, said of "Oz'" ability to cover the show's subjects, “When Oz started 20 years ago there were three networks and Fox and that was about it. Nobody else was making these kind of shows, and it really pushed the envelope of television.” Other cast members who've gone on to become well-known include J.K. Simmons, Christopher Meloni and Eamonn Walker. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...est-ny-1048988 Attached Images