Why Netflix Original Ozark stands out in a crowded genre

Ozark is a Netflix original series starring Jason Bateman in the leading role, he also plays a large part behind the scenes as he is named as an executive producer. The show focuses on a seemingly ordinary man who is laundering money for the cartel, some people may find this setup too familiar and overused as there numerous shows on Netflix alone that focus on similar (breaking bad esc) stories relating to the cartel, money laundering and a good person doing bad things to protect their family, however Ozark is complex and different enough to separate itself from other dramas with similar themes. Without spoiling too much, the main gist of the show is this: In episode 1, financial advisor  Marty Bryrde (Jason Bateman) has already  been laundering money for the cartel for some time in Chicago (how he initially found himself in this position is eventually revealed through flashbacks) but one day the man he works for discovers that Marty and his business partner have been stealing large sums of  the cartels money while laundering it. To save his own life and the life of his family, Marty proposes a scheme to his boss that will allow him to launder a large amount money undetected, however in order to carry out this operation Marty, his wife Wendy (Played by Laura Linney) and his two kids have to move to the Ozarks, where they are able to avoid detection of the FBI.

Because of its similarity with other shows, the first few episodes do feel very familiar but around episode 3 of the first season it begins to really find it’s own identity stand out in the saturated genre, I think each of the 3 seasons is better than the last. One of the main elements of Ozark that makes it feel unique is the honesty of it’s characters; in other dramas characters keep secrets from each other as a way to build tension and lead to a moment later on where the secrets come out, what Ozark does different is the characters rarely keep secrets from each other, in the first episode Marty explains to his children that he launders money for the cartel, this surprised me as I expected the story to go down a more predictable route where the main character is constantly thinking of lies they can tell their family to explain where they’ve been disappearing off to while they deal with the cartel until eventually the family find out what he does in the last episode, instead, the first season shows how the kids deal with this revelation and the changes to their lives after being forced to move away from Chicago. By having the characters tell each other everything, the show is forced to be more creative and original to write tense moments.

Arguably the best thing about the series is the setting itself; the Ozarks feel isolated and timeless, especially when compared to a busy city like Chicago. The shows isolated stripped back setting allows it to focus more on the characters instead of what surrounds them; where many shows that deal with crime would have scenes set in a police department where a team of detectives tries to piece together the situation, Ozark instead focuses on one detective who’s been sent to the Ozarks to called agent Petty, who develops a personal grudge against Marty Byrde as the series goes on.

The latest season of Ozark is the best one yet as it introduces a new character: Ben Byrde (Wendy Byrdes brother), who completely changes the dynamic of the show in the way that he reacts to his family’s current situation. The third season also offers some insightful commentary on the way people with bipolar disorder are often treated unfairly and misunderstood.