I started to share my passion for TV shows here about a year ago but I somehow never got around to continue what I had started. But my latest addiction finally made me come back to it because it’s simply too good to not share it.
Orange is the new Black might sound a bit strange as a title, but it’s acutally the best new series that I have seen in quite a while now! It’s written by Jenji Kohan, who also created another beloved show of mine called Weeds, and it’s one of those shows that I would heartly recommend to just anyone regardless of their taste in TV shows because I consider this pretty accessable and likeable for everyone who has a brain, a heart and sense of humor. Find out more about it and watch a trailer after the jump.
Orange is the new Black is based on the real-life story of a woman named Piper who is sentenced to 15 months of prison for being involved in some dirty drug business. But Piper is by far not your typical thug, she’s actually from a quite sorted and suburban background, but somehow got mixed up in the business through her lesbian lover who is an international drug-runner. At first Piper got away with it and managed to start a new, more conformative life with a (male) fiancé and a legal business selling artisanal soaps. But 10 years later her past catches up with her and she will have to face the punishement for her mistakes.
Of course life in a women’s prison is quite the contrast to her perfect, protected life in New York and she certainly stands out between all the other inmates as the pretty white lady who looks like she couldn’t harm a fly. And it’s exactly that contrast and conflict that makes this show so fun and entertaining to watch. Ironically it’s not even the other inmates who make her life more than complicated, well for the most part of it at least. Don’t want to give away too much here.
My favorite part of the show is relationship between Piper and her ex-lesbian-lover who we at first only see in flashbacks but later on turns out to be in the same prison (a fact that was actually not true in the real story and is one of the few plotlines that have been “added” to the show to make it work better for TV). Despite the fact that this woman is clearly a ruthless criminal you still sympathize with her in a way that makes you wonder if Piper wouldn’t be better off with her and not with her super-dull fiancé. But you decide for yourself! All 13 episodes have been released at once by online channel Netflix. So this is perfect material for some binge watching. Enjoy!
