A Word to the Wise

Welcome to Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison or "Oz." As run by Tim McManus and overseen by Warden Leo Glynn. Em City is about prisoner rehabilitation over public retribution. No matter how hardened a criminal or killer, whether you're in for a few years or in for life, you have a role to play. Once inside, choose your friends carefully. Every group - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to mutual friends and terrorize mutual enemies. Don't smile. Get yourself a weapon. Stay on everybody's good side... if you can find one.

All that glitters is not Emerald City. Following the bloodbath that ended the prison riot, life is returning to far from normal for those who survived in the experimental unit of Oz. The Aryan Schillinger still butts heads with Beecher. The mob, led by Schibetta, continues to find its business cut into by the cold-hearted Adebisi. Warden Glynn and Tim McManus struggle to do the right thing for their prisoners, facing adversity at every turn from Governor Devlin. New prisoners include the sexually provocative child killer Shirley Bellinger and a guilty priest who will be forced to pay a terrible penance. The world of Oz will shatter your expectations in a new season where safety is not a option.

The name on the street is Oz, but the name on the wall is the Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary - or it was. Now it's being changed to the Oswald State Correctional Facility. Maybe by getting rid of the word "penitentiary," the state is finally admitting that nobody's penitent. Nobody's sorry. NOBODY.

The Millennium ended with a bang at Oswald State Correctional Facility, Level Four - aka, Emerald City - as racial tensions reached an all-time high. Now, following a two-week lockdown and the appointment of a new Unit Manager, things are definitely changing, but not necessarily for the better. Prison officials are looking for ways to end the hostilities and return Emerald City to normal... but when was Em City ever normal?

It's a new year...but just another day in Oz. The renovations following the fire are complete: the walls are cleaner, the cafeteria is bigger and everything seems fresher...everything on the outside that is. Inside the hearts and minds of the prisoners, Oz is just as dark and raw as it ever was. Emerald City may look new, but the old, festering feuds are always just around the corner.

On the surface, not much has changed inside the walls of Oswald State Penitentiary. Schillinger has revenge on his mind, Cyril is facing execution, Beecher is hoping for parole, and McManus is finding solace in a meditative maze. But there's toil and trouble brewing in the Oz cauldron, as the Oz players rehearse for their presentation of Macbeth and the climactic final act.