I’m a big fan of Orange Is The New Black, the surprise hit for Netflix. It’s a smart prison drama – one that I’ve read is actually quite authentic – and above that and excellent female-driven drama.
If anything OITNB goes a bit overboard with its femme credentials, as the male characters are all by and large wimps, assholes or worse. But considering how saturated entertainment is with overblown male casts and fragile female caricatures, I see no problem with that. OITNB is the women’s revenge on the patriarchy that dominates our television and movie screens. I personally think it’s one of the most ground-breaking and important shows to have ever been made. No hyperbole – I mean that.
That’s one reason why I like the show. The other is that it has a diverse and interesting cast of characters. While season 1 mainly focused on the main character Piper and her induction into the prison system, season 2 made much broader strokes and brought the other characters to life. The writers also got a lot more comfortable with Netflix’s format and did some really interesting things as a result. If anyone were to ask me what makes Netflix shows different to their peers, OITNB has all the answers.
Season 3 is just around the corner – 12 June – so a few images and new trailer has surfaced. Sadly all this will do is entice new fans and stir the hunger of existing ones. Not much is revealed at all, other than all the characters are back again (bar those who didn’t quite make it out of season 2 alive). So there is no information here about a new villain or where any of the many plot threads are going. In fact, I’m not even quite sure if there is new footage in this trailer or if it’s all pulled from the first two runs.
But if you are a fan of OITNB, you know that doesn’t matter. If season 2 held your interest, season 3 is definitely worth queueing up when it begins streaming.
Last Updated: May 12, 2015
