Critical hegemony tracing the start of the Second Golden Age of Television to the release of HBO’s The Sopranos in 1999 means that several properties released before that time have flown under the academic radar. Oz (1997-2003), the first serial drama ever produced by HBO, contains all the tightly plotted storytelling and enhanced aesthetics Alexis Pichard defines as key features of Golden Age television, and achieved the required level of popular success with both audiences and critics. While its 1997 release date may have stopped it being classed as a Golden Age property, however, it also makes the portrayal of the complex social issues explored through its range of diverse characters even more remarkable. 

From originating the one-hour episode format to being the first series to ever air full-frontal male nudity, Oz broke televisual ground which paved the way for modern television. Although most commonly associated with the graphic incidents of physical and sexual violence it depicted, the show has since been commended by critics for the reverent discussions of organized religion it screened, an unflinching and exploratory ethos which also informed the depictions of complex topics such race, gender, and sexuality featured throughout its six seasons. 

The scope of Tom Fontana’s exploration of the American condition through the microcosm of a high-tech prison is wide-ranging and multifaceted enough that scholarship has prevailed on it since its release. In spite of this continued critical enquiry, there has never been a scholarly volume dedicated to the show. Issues such as substance abuse, judicial prejudice and the problems affecting aging prison populations it raised remain salient, with the intersections of race, masculinity and ideology which shaped the show’s white supremacy representing an increasingly important topic in the context of a rise in far-right political movements. 

The editor of a proposed edited collection seeks expressions of interest for chapters ranging from 5-6000 words on any aspect of HBO’s Oz, including but not limited to: 

• Race and ethnicity depicted in Oz. 

• Gender and sexuality depicted in Oz. 

• Religion and religious conversions depicted in Oz. 

• The legal system as depicted in Oz. 

• Sexual violence depicted in Oz. 

• Morality, legality and ethics in Oz. 

• Embodiment and disability depicted in Oz. 

• Narration and narrative distancing in Oz. 

• Aesthetic experimentation and theatricality in Oz. 

If interested in contributing, please send a short expression of interest (150 words) and biography (100 words) to fenwick@uark.edu and 30yearsofoz@gmail.com by 30th April 2025.