Netflix sets ‘Orange Is the New Black’ return date
“Orange Is the new Black” will be returning for a second season on June 6, Netflix confirmed on Saturday. The announcement was tucked onto the end of the second-season finale of “House of Cards,” the full 13 episodes of which went live on Netflix at midnight PST.
A brief teaser trailer, embedded above, was released, but few details or hints as to what viewers may expect in the second season were revealed. Also unknown at press time is how the president feels about the series. Barack Obama’s TV tastes became national news when he asked via Twitter that no one spoil “House of Cards” for the Oval Office viewing audience.
Jenji Kohan’s women-in-prison comedy-drama, an adaptation of Piper Kerman’s memoir, which chronicled her yearlong stint in federal prison, earned its lead, Taylor Schilling, a Golden Globe nomination in its first season. The first season chronicled the psychological journey of the main character, with Piper forced to literally fight for her life by its end.
PHOTOS: Before they were stars on ‘Orange is the New Black’
“She starts out in prison thinking of herself as a nice person, and over time we watch her adjust and go primal,” said show creator Kohan in a recent interview with The Times. “So even if we didn’t get picked up [for a second season], you’d feel like you’d taken a real ride. She’s a flawed human being; we all are. We’re always trying to be better but failing.”
In describing the main character, Kohan said Piper is “a woman on a continual search for identity. A lot of the show is about figuring out who you are and what mask you’re going to wear in what environment. Ultimately we found it most interesting to see her kind of go native.”
Times critic Mary McNamara praised “Orange Is the New Black” as one of the top 10 shows of 2013, writing that it’s “proof that Netflix can bring more than Instant Binge” and praising the show as one that “redefines drama, comedy, narrative form, possibly the universe.”
Netflix counts more than 44 million worldwide subscribers. The streaming giant has said it expects to close in on 50 million subscribers and $50 million in profit at the end of the first quarter of 2014.
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