Ozark (TV series)

Ozark is an American crime drama television series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix and produced by MRC Television and Aggregate Films. The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who moves their family to the Lake of the Ozarks to continue their work laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. Bateman also serves as a director and executive producer for the series.

The first season of Ozark was released on July 21, 2017; the second season was released on August 31, 2018; and the third season was released on March 27, 2020. The first three seasons are 10 episodes each. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season consisting of 14 episodes split into two parts; the first part was released on January 21, 2022, and the second was released on April 29, 2022.

Ozark received positive reviews from critics throughout its run, with particular praise for its tone, directing, production values, and performances (particularly those of Bateman, Linney, and Julia Garner). The series has received a total of 45 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Drama Series, with Bateman winning for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2020 and Garner winning three times for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Bateman has received two further Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

Premise

After a money laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel goes wrong, financial advisor Marty Byrde proposes to make amends by offering to set up a bigger laundering operation in the Lake of the Ozarks region of central Missouri. Marty suddenly moves his family from the Chicago suburb of Naperville to the remote summer resort community of Osage Beach, Missouri. When the Byrdes arrive in Missouri, they become entangled with local criminals, including the Langmore and Snell families, and later the Kansas City mafia.

Cast and characters

• Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a self-employed financial advisor originally based in Chicago who later moves his family to the Lake of the Ozarks region. In 2007, he and his business partner began to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel.
• Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde (née Davis), Marty's wife and a public relations operative for political campaigns. She becomes an advance person and stager for a local realtor, and then a lobbyist for Marty's proposal to build a casino.
• Sofia Hublitz as Charlotte Byrde, Marty and Wendy's daughter.
• Skylar Gaertner as Jonah Byrde, Marty and Wendy's adolescent son.
• Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore, a young woman who is part of a local family of petty criminals.
• Jordana Spiro as Rachel Garrison (seasons 1–2; recurring season 4), owner of the Blue Cat lodge and bar and Marty's reluctant business partner; later, Ruth's business partner.
• Jason Butler Harner as Roy Petty (seasons 1–2), an FBI agent investigating Marty.
• Esai Morales as Camino "Del" Del Rio (season 1), a lieutenant for the Navarro drug cartel.
• Peter Mullan as Jacob Snell (seasons 1–2), an established local heroin producer and the area's crime boss.
• Lisa Emery as Darlene Snell, Jacob's wife and partner in the heroin business.
• Charlie Tahan as Wyatt Langmore (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1), Russ's elder son and Ruth's cousin.
• Janet McTeer as Helen Pierce (season 3; recurring season 2), a Chicago-based attorney who represents the Navarro cartel.
• Tom Pelphrey as Ben Davis (season 3; guest season 4), Wendy's brother who has bipolar disorder.
• Jessica Frances Dukes as Maya Miller (seasons 3–4), an FBI forensic accountant investigating the Byrdes' casino business.
• Felix Solis as Omar Navarro (season 4; recurring season 3), the leader of the drug cartel for whom the Byrdes are laundering money
• Damian Young as Jim Rattelsdorf (season 4; recurring seasons 2–3), a wealthy lawyer and Wilkes' right-hand man who becomes an ally of the Byrdes.
• Alfonso Herrera as Javier "Javi" Elizondro (season 4), Navarro's hot-headed nephew and presumptive heir of his cartel.
• Adam Rothenberg as Mel Sattem (season 4), a disgraced former cop turned private investigator.

Production

Development

Ozark is set at a modest waterfront resort at Lake of the Ozarks, inspired by the Alhonna Resort and Marina, where series creator Dubuque worked as a dock hand while attending college in Missouri during the 1980s. Jason Bateman was originally meant to be the sole director for the first season, but because the schedule did not enable him to have enough preparation time, he directed only the first two and last two episodes.

To make Ozark as realistic and sensible as possible for depicting money laundering, the writers for the series brought an FBI agent who works on financial crimes into the writers' room. They also brought in a hedge-fund manager, for information about moving large sums of money. Beam Solutions, a financial-compliance software company, considered the series' accuracy to be "both plausible and very creative."

The series was renewed for a 10-episode second season on August 15, 2017. On October 10, 2018, the series was renewed for a 10-episode third season. On June 30, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for its fourth and final season, which consists of 14 episodes split into two parts. The first part of the fourth and final season was released on January 21, 2022. The second part of the final season premiered on April 29, 2022.

Opening credits

Graphic designer Fred Davis created a white letter "O", which is featured on a black background at the beginning of each episode. Within the quartered circle of the O are four symbols that foreshadow the main plot points in that episode. Additionally, each of these hand-drawn symbolic images is formed to represent the remaining letters in "Ozark". For example, for episode one, a kneeling man represents "Z"; a building represents "A"; a gun represents "R"; and a falling man represents "K".

Filming

Most of the shooting locations are in the Atlanta area at Lake Allatoona and Lake Lanier, rather than at the Lake of the Ozarks, because of tax breaks offered by Georgia. JD's on the Lake, a lakeside restaurant in Canton, Georgia, was chosen as the location for The Blue Cat Lodge in the show. The film crew constructed a set in Georgia after extensively studying the Alhonna Resort property. Some scenes are filmed at Chicago locations. The series has also filmed in Georgia locations such as Berkeley Lake, Stone Mountain, Savannah, Norcross, Johns Creek, and Peachtree Corners.

The cinematography was primarily handled by Ben Kutchins for the first three seasons. The series was initially filmed with the Panasonic VariCam, and later switched to the Sony Venice for season three onwards. The series is known for its distinctive color grading, which is characterized by heavy blue hues, dim lighting, and deep shadows. Kutchins explained that the cinematography is intended to engage audiences to "[look] around the frame to see what's lurking in the shadows." From the third season onward, the series' visual style was brightened and its color palette expanded to reflect the prominent new settings of the casino and Navarro's estate.

Filming for the fourth season began on November 9, 2020, and concluded on October 8, 2021.

Episodes

Season 1 (2017)

Season 2 (2018)

Season 3 (2020)

Season 4 (2022)

Reception

Season 1

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 70% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Ozark hasn't yet reached the same level as the classic crime dramas to which it will inevitably be compared, but its satisfyingly complex plot – and a gripping performance from Jason Bateman – suggest greater potential." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Brian Lowry of CNN wrote, "While the fish-out-of-water concept is one of TV's oldest, Ozark carves out its own path with clever twists – including a late-in-the-run flashback explaining how the cartel came into his life – and the sheer strength of the performances." TV critic Sonia Saraiya of Variety wrote that Ozark is "smart, well-crafted, and says something," and that the series "comes together under Bateman's disarming and deceptively complex performance as Marty." Tim Dowling of The Guardian wrote "Laura Linney is, as ever, magnificent".