Orange Is the New Black Information

Orange Is the New Black is an American comedy-drama series, created by Jenji Kohan which first aired on Netflix on July 11, 2013. The series, produced by Lionsgate Television, is based on Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman, a memoir about her own experiences in prison. Orange is the New Black stars Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, a woman imprisoned for transporting drug money. The series also stars Laura Prepon as Alex Vause, a drug dealer and Piper's former lover; Michael J. Harney as prison counselor Sam Healy; Michelle Hurst as Miss Claudette, a fellow inmate; Kate Mulgrew as the inmate cook "Red," and Jason Biggs as Piper's fiancé Larry Bloom.

On June 27, 2013, Netflix renewed Orange Is the New Black for a second season.

Premise

Orange Is the New Black revolves around Piper Chapman (Schilling), a woman from Connecticut, living in New York City, who is sent to the women's Litchfield, NY, federal prison for 15 months for transporting a suitcase full of drug money for Alex Vause (Prepon), an international drug smuggler and Chapman's former lover.

Cast

See List of characters from Orange Is the New Black for more information

Main cast

• Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman: Piper is sent to prison for carrying drug money for her former girlfriend, Alex, and navigates the stresses it creates in her life and with her fiancé Larry. While in prison, Piper tries to understand and find her place in the hierarchy, and re-examines her relationship with Alex, who is also an inmate.
• Laura Prepon as Alex Vause: Piper's former girlfriend who is also serving time in the same prison as Piper. With a mother who worked four jobs and a washed-up rock star for a father, Alex grew up being bullied for her low socioeconomic status and eventually wound up working for an international drug cartel.
• Michael J. Harney as Sam Healy: Healy is a correctional officer and social worker. He has his own personal witch hunt for lesbians. He claims to understand Piper, although he is passive-aggressive in nature. He is married to a Ukrainian immigrant who has two years left to wait until she gets her green card.
• Michelle Hurst as Miss Claudette: Piper's roommate who is very strict and feared at the prison. Miss Claudette ran an illegal immigration and child-labor cleaning service, into which she herself was inducted when she came to the United States as a child.
• Kate Mulgrew as Galina "Red" Reznikov: Red runs the prison's kitchen. She owned a restaurant with her husband and worked with the Russian mob. Red is the go-to woman in the prison and runs it behind the scenes. She is seen as a mother figure for a group of women, some of whom are former drug users, and gives them two chances to make it in her group before they are expelled.
• Jason Biggs as Larry Bloom: A struggling writer trying to climb the journalism ladder, Larry finds out that his fiancée, Piper, has to go to prison. Larry believes that their relationship can make it through Piper's sentence.
• Taryn Manning as Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett (recurring, season 1; regular, season 2-): A drug addict prisoner who preaches about God and healing others. Incarcerated for murdering a nurse after she commented on the number of abortions Pennsatucky had received.
• Danielle Brooks as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson (recurring, season 1; regular season 2-): An inmate who works in the prison library, she is best friends with Poussey Washington.
• Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren (recurring, season 1; regular season 2-): She is a slightly unhinged prisoner who develops an obsession with Chapman.

Recurring cast

• Natasha Lyonne as Nicky Nichols: a former drug addict who is now in Red's group. Red helps Nicky get clean when she lands in prison, and Nicky considers Red to be her true mother; Red considers Nicky as her most trusted girl.
• Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset: a transgender woman who went to prison for credit-card fraud. She has a son named Michael with her wife, Crystal, and is a hairdresser for many of the inmates.
• Dascha Polanco as Dayanara "Daya" Diaz: an inmate who in a relationship with one of the correctional officers, John Bennett. She is serving time with her mother.
• Yael Stone as Lorna Morello: A Brooklyn-Italian inmate who continually plans the wedding that she will have once she gets released from prison.
• Vicky Jeudy as Janae Watson: A gifted high-school track star who is arrested after she became involved in a store robbery with her boyfriend and was caught.
• Madeline Brewer as Tricia Miller: A drug addict who grew up on the streets.
• Constance Shulman as Yoga Jones: A yoga instructor who once was a marijuana farmer. She is incarcerated for accidentally shooting and killing a child, thinking he was a deer eating her crops.
• Samira Wiley as Poussey Washington: an inmate who has been in prison for two years at the start of the series and has four years left. She is best friends with Taystee.
• ?Elizabeth Rodriguez as Aleida Diaz: Daya's incarcerated mother. She was involved with a man who had her cutting and bagging drugs in her kitchen.
• Lea DeLaria as Carrie "Big Boo" Black: A lesbian inmate who has had several "wives" during her incarceration. She cares for a service dog named "Little Boo."
• Maria Dizzia as Polly Harper: Piper's pregnant best friend. Polly and Piper own a business together.
• Pablo Schreiber as George "Pornstache" Mendez: A corrupt correctional officer who frequently abuses his authority to sell drugs, harass and coerce sexual favors from the inmates.
• Matt McGorry as John Bennett: A correctional officer who is in a secret relationship with Daya.
• Nick Sandow as Joe Caputo: A prison counselor who is infatuated with Susan Fischer.
• Alysia Reiner as Natalie Figueroa: The prison administrator who tries to cover-up any sort of bad publicity that might be brought to the prison.
• Joel Marsh Garland as S. O'Neill: A correctional officer in a relationship with Wanda Bell.
• Catherine Curtin as Wanda Bell: A verbally-brutal correctional officer.
• Matt Peters as Joel Luschek: An electrician who runs the electrical shop.
• Lauren Lapkus as Susan Fischer: A rookie correctional officer.
• Michael Chernus as Cal Chapman: Piper's brother who lives out in the wilderness in a trailer with his fiancée.

Although Orange is the New Black features a large ensemble main cast, recurring characters did occasionally supplement them. The prison inmates include Selenis Leyva as Gloria Mendoza, Adrienne C. Moore as Black Cindy, Annie Golden as Norma Romano - a silent inmate, Emma Myles as Leanne Taylor, Jessica Pimentel as Maria Ruiz, Beth Fowler as Sister Ingalls, Abigail Savage as Gina Murphy, Jackie Cruz as Flaca, Diane Guerrero as Maritza, Lin Tucci as Anita Demarco, Laura Gomez as Blanca Flores, Barbara Rosenblat as Miss Rosa, Kaipo Schwab as Igme Dimaguiba, and Lori Tan Chinn as Chang. Other cast include correctional officers Maxwell (Lolita Foster), Wade Donaldson (Brendan Burke), and J. Thompson (Harold Surratt). Deborah Rush portrays Piper's mother Carol, Todd Susman and Kathryn Kates portray Larry's parents Howard Bloom and Amy Kanter-Bloom, Tracee Chimo as Neri Feldman - Cal's girlfriend, James McDaniel as Jean Baptiste - Miss Claudette's friend and romantic interest, Tanya Wright as Sophia's wife Crystal, Nick Stevenson as Polly's husband Pete Harper, and Berto Colon as Cesar, Aleida's boyfriend.

Episodes

See List of Orange Is the New Black episodes for more information

Production

In July 2011, it was announced that Lionsgate Television and Netflix were in negotiations about adding Orange Is The New Black, based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, to Netflix Originals lineup. It was then later reported that Netflix finalized a deal for a 13-episode straight-to-series order to Orange Is The New Black. Casting announcements began in August 2012, with Taylor Schilling first cast in the lead role of Piper Chapman, followed by Jason Biggs as Piper's fiance Larry Bloom. Laura Prepon and Yael Stone were next to join the series. Laverne Cox, an African-American transgender woman, plays Sophia Burset, a transgender character. The Advocate touted that Orange is the New Black contains the first ever women-in-prison narrative including a real transgender woman. The series was developed and executive produced by Jenji Kohan and Liz Friedman, with production beginning on the first season in fall 2012. The series' main title theme song "You've Got Time" was recorded by Regina Spektor and became available for online streaming July 9, 2013. Orange Is the New Black began filming in Rockland County, NY in March 2013. According to the show's official Facebook page, production of season 2 has already begun.

Critical reception

Orange Is The New Black has received critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It has earned a Metacritic score of 79 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. Hank Steuver, television critic for the The Washington Post gave Orange Is The New Black a perfect score. In his review of the series he stated "In Jenji Kohan's magnificent and thoroughly engrossing new series, Orange Is the New Black, prison is still the pits. But it is also filled with the entire range of human emotion and stories, all of which are brought vividly to life in a world where a stick of gum could ignite either a romance or a death threat". David Wiegland of the San Francisco Chronicle said that "In every case, there is an abiding feeling for character and authenticity that helps elevate Orange Is the New Black to a new definition of television excellence". Matt Roush of TV Guide said "Netflix finally achieves its eureka moment with a terrifically entertaining piece of original programming that's truly and bracingly original." Maureen Ryan of the The Huffington Post wrote "Orange is one of the best new programs of the year, and the six episodes I've seen have left me hungry to see more."

Orange Is The New Black generated more viewers and hours viewed in its first week than other high profile Netflix original series House of Cards and Arrested Development.