TV Review: Orange is the New Black Season 1

"Orange Is the New Black" Season 2 debuts in June, and if the first photos are any indication, the Litchfield women are in for another bumpy ride.

A unique, dramatic, and entertaining show!

I’ve been hearing about “Orange is the New Black” for a while now but I’m often slow to pick up on new shows, especially when they’re “out of genre” for me (science fiction and fantasy). But the world is full of entertaining stories and this is certainly one of them.

Piper Chapman is sent to prison ten years after committing the crime of transporting heroin. At the time, she was involved in a relationship with a woman who was part of an international drug cartel. Now she’s about to get married and is trying to start a business. But someone said something to someone about her ten-year-old transgression and she has to do the time — 15 months.

The first episode was a little hard to follow, to be honest, A series of poorly constructed flashbacks made it confusing, although the back story did turn out to be important as at the end of episode one, we discover that Piper’s ex-girlfriend is also in prison with her.

After the first episode, the flashbacks get far less frequent and more manageable. Many of them help explain what the various other main characters are doing in prison, and they add depth to the ongoing situation.

There is no shortage of drama! Piper starts out by sticking her foot in her mouth and insulting the food, which leads to her being deprived of food for several days. A crazy woman decides that Piper is her “wife” and gets a bit scary. Over time, Piper’s relationship with her fiance on the outside gets seriously strained while her relationships on the inside have her calling into question who she is.

This show is classified as a comedy/drama, but I believe that is a misclassification. It’s a drama. There are some humorous moments, as in life, but the primary goal of the show is not comedy. It is far more thought-provoking than funny. And as a drama, it is definitely a winner!

I highly recommend this show. Adult viewers only.

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