Creator: Jenji Kohan
Starring: Taylor Schilling, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley, Adrienne C. Moore, Jason Biggs.
Extras: 2 X Cast Commentaries, Featurettes: Back Before The Potato Sack, Orange Peeled, A Walk Around The Block, The VEE.I.P. Treatment.
Running Time: 780 minutes
It seems like yesterday we were introduced to those lovely Litchfield ladies from Orange Is The New Black, but we’re already coming up to season three already. But with a new season on the way, you know what that means…BINGE REWATCHING.
Piper (Taylor Schilling), once the bright eyed blonde haired city slicker has now found herself in solitary confinement in the midst of her fifteen month prison sentence, but everyone is not what it seems when she is shipped on a plane to testify against the drug dealer that herself and Alex (Laura Prepon) worked for. This gives us just a taster of what happens through out season two, as they too have to face the question of loyalty. There were many cliff hangers at the end of season one, but within the first few episodes they are addressed to make way for new story lines, new characters, and our once supporting cast to make their way up the ranks.
Just as interesting as the ensemble cast itself is the wide range of directors and writers. Jodie Foster gets the ball rolling with the season opener, while Brat Pack legend Andrew McCarthy returns to the series as director for ‘Comic Sans’, the season’s turning point episode. Most of the writers from season one return, but creator Jenji Kohan takes the lead the writing credits this time around.
As unfair it would be to single out a series MVP, the most talked about performance has been Uzo Aduba as Crazy Eyes. Now an Emmy winning performance, her portrayal of the misunderstood prison mate is a mixture of heart warming and heart breaking, and never have we wanted to go into our small screen and hug a fictional character as much as we do her. She is also part of another great story arc with Taystee (Danielle Brooks) and Poussey (Samira Wiley), who are both battling between right and wrong. But whatever OITNB team you are on, there is no doubt that this cast are a force to be reckoned with.
Orange Is The New Black can only grow from here – it has become unapologetic and bold, something that might have been slightly tip toed around in season one. Season three will be a crucial one for the show, but if the last season is anything to go by, we have nothing to worry about.
EXTRAS
The extras are definitely ones for the fans, with aptly entitled featurettes like ‘The VEE.I.P. treatment’ and ‘Back Before The Potato Sack’, and the audio commentaries for ‘You Also Have Pizza’ and ‘Hugs Can Be Deceiving’ can not be missed. But really, Orange Is The New black, no gag reel on the DVD? Star taken off for you.
Orange Is The New Black Season Two is out on DVD now.
