The following review was compiled after watching 6 episodes of Orange Is The New Black and is spoiler free.
There is some trepidation about reviewing the upcoming season of Orange Is The New Black given that season 5, a riot which took place over 3 days, felt a little flat. When we left out favorite Litchfield inmates, most were loaded onto busses headed for new prisons. Meanwhile, the fate of those in the bunker – which included Piper (Taylor Schilling), Red (Kate Mulgrew), Suzanne (Uzo Aduba), Taystee (Danielle Brooks), Nicky (Natasha Lyonne), and Gloria (Selenis Leyva) – were left up in the air as CERT officers stormed the building.
The new season picks up one week after the emergency response team stormed Litchfield Penitentiary, with most of our key players in a new environment – maximum security – a new world order they must adjust to quickly. As Netflix have, naturally, kept plot details light, I’m not going to delve into plot details beyond what they have already revealed as it’s best to go into this season with very little idea about what’s to come. The less you know, the more you’ll be surprised by the twist and turns in this new setting.
Moving the story to Maximum Security is a welcomed relief as it allows the show to focus on a small group of inmates, all fan favourites, who now have to choose to work together or for themselves. This leads to some interesting storylines as the season progresses.
A new location also means some fresh new faces this season, including Carol (Henny Russell), a lifer who runs C Block, Barbara (Mackenzie Phillips) who runs D Block, Madison “Badison” Murphy (Last Man Standing‘s Amanda Fuller), Carol’s loudmouth, scene-stealing lieutenant, and Daddy (Vicci Martinez). They are all characters to watch this season alongside all our favourites.
The cast have been given their best work to date with the original inmates relishing the chance to explore a tough environment. Creator Jenji Kohan and her team have served up 13 new instalments that are refreshing and exciting, taking a step towards the Orange we all know and love. If you’ve been anticipating the drop of this new season, you will not be disappointed.
4 out of 5 stars
Orange Is The New Black season 6 premieres on Netflix on Friday, 27 July.
