Oz (Seasons 1–6)

Oz (1997–2003) is HBO's brutal prison drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Almost everything unfolds inside Emerald City, an experimental maximum-security unit. There is no real freedom here. There is only which faction you belong to, and whether you live to see morning.

The inmates split into camps: Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans, the Irish. Each protects its own and preys on the rest. Warden's deputy Tim McManus believes the unit can actually rehabilitate men, but his experiment drowns in blood, drugs and backroom deals. The cast brings Lee Tergesen as fresh fish Beecher, J.K. Simmons as the sadistic Schillinger, plus Ernie Hudson, Christopher Meloni and Rita Moreno. A narrator in a wheelchair speaks straight to camera each episode, turning the carnage into something close to a stage monologue.

This was HBO's first hour-long drama, the show that cleared the runway for The Sopranos and The Wire. Creator Tom Fontana spares the viewer nothing: the violence is unvarnished, and no one falls neatly into hero or villain. Six seasons, made for anyone who wants hard prison drama with zero sentiment. Stream every season of Oz online on iFILM.