Ozark

Netflix’s grim crime tentpole; Laura Linney and Julia Garner as stealth MVPs.

Why it matters

Episode guide

44 episodes across 4 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.

At a glance

Financial planner Marty Byrde relocates his family to the Missouri Ozarks to launder cartel cash — lake light, dead eyes, and Wendy's ambition climbing faster than the body count. Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams built Netflix grim crime tentpole TV around Jason Bateman's calm panic and Laura Linney's steel. Julia Garner steals seasons as Ruth Langmore. Money is the plot; family is the collateral. It is Breaking Bad energy in tourist-country gothic.

Network & studio

• Netflix — streamer network

Why watch now

For Garner and Linney as stealth MVPs and a crime spiral with completed architecture. Binge when you want competent people making worse choices elegantly.

Cultural impact

Ozark was a Netflix crime flagship that minted Julia Garner as an awards regular. It proved Bateman's dramatic deadpan could carry darkness. The Byrdes entered the antihero-family pantheon.

Creators

Bill Dubuque · Mark Williams

Key cast

• Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde
• Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
• Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore
• Sofia Hublitz as Charlotte Byrde
• Skylar Gaertner as Jonah Byrde
• Lisa Emery as Darlene Snell

Flash facts

• Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams; Netflix premiere July 21, 2017.
• Four seasons (2017–2022).
• Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star; Julia Garner won multiple Emmys as Ruth Langmore.
• Centers on cartel money laundering in the Osage Beach/Lake of the Ozarks region.
• Bateman also directed multiple episodes.

FAQ

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