SPLICED FEATURE /
TEN TV SHOWS YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING
ISSUE 05
Orange is the new Black
Genre / Dark comedy
cast / Taylor Schilling / Laura Prepon Michael J. Harney / Michelle Hurst / Kate Mulgrew / Jason Biggs
Creator / Jenji Kohan
What is it about?
Orange is the New Black is based on Piper
Kerman's memoir, Orange Is the New Black:
My Year in a Women's Prison, about her
experiences in prison (obviously.) The lead
character takes her name from the author, Piper
Chapman, a bisexual woman living in New York
City who is sentenced to fifteen months in a
women's federal prison for a decade-old crime
she committed by transporting drug money for
her former girlfriend Alex, an international drug
smuggler. While in prison, Piper is reunited with
Alex, and they re-examine their relationship and
come to terms with prison life.
Why watch it?
Relative newcomer Schilling is great in the role
of Piper, watching her adapt to a life behind
bars in orange overalls is harsh, scary at times
and also good fun, albeit of a darker kind. If you
think a woman’s prison is easier than those we’ve
previously seen in other male inhabited prison
shows think again. The characters are the heart
of the story, each woman that Piper befriends or
makes an enemy of has their own story. Often
heartbreaking and victims of circumstance they all
find themselves in the same situation, and boy does
it get bitchy at times.
51