I may be late to the party but I just started binge-watching the series Orange Is The New Black (OITNB).
I tried watching it from way, way back but my life had too much drama then so I stopped watching it. LOL. My life has less drama now so… It’s time for some OITNB drama. Haha! This prison drama first aired in 2013 and it has now released five seasons (I’m still on season 4).
Apparently, the series is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir, Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010), about her experiences at FCI Danbury, a minimum-security federal prison.
What’s it about?
The story revolves around Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) and her experiences in Litchfield Penitentiary after she self-surrendered for transporting a suitcase full of drug money for her girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), an international drug smuggler.
How many episodes?
Orange Is The New Black has the following seasons and episodes:
- Season 1 – 13 episodes
- Season 2 – 13 episodes
- Season 3 – 13 episodes
- Season 4 – 13 episodes
- Season 5 – 13 episodes
Each episode is about an hour long while season finales can go up to 1.5 hours.
What do I like about it?
I liked how Piper evolved from being the bullied newcomer in prison to what she calls “gangsta.
” I also liked how they unravel every important sub-main character’s backstory in every episode. In a way, I get to learn what lead them to do whatever they did to get caught and land in prison. I also enjoyed the backstories of the prison staff especially the one that showed how Joe Caputo was always the good guy.
Heads up!
The show also deals with how corruption, drug smuggling, funding cuts, overcrowding and guard brutality affect the prisoners’ health and well-being and the prison’s basic ability to fulfill its fundamental responsibilities and ethical obligations as a federal corrections institution. Also, it’s a women’s prison so there’s lots of lesbian relationships and sex.
Where to watch?
Orange Is The New Black is available on Netflix.
