When they premiered in 2013 on Netflix, Orange is the New Back and House of Cards established the streaming giant as a creative force to be reckoned with. Both had an edgy, darkly-funny and sometimes shocking approach to their subject matter.
Now, HOC is preparing to end its run next month with Robin Wright as President and now the lady prisoners of Litchfield are about to be released in 2019 as it was announced that OITNB’s season 7 will be its last.
Thank god.
Although the show was something that the REEL360 team binged religously, it really began to lose creative steam about three seasons ago. The story, based on the book of the same name by Piper Kerman, introduced us to Taylor Schilling’s “Piper Chapman.” Chapman was a privileged white suburbanite who had to learn what is what like to be a regular person. The series also introduced us to unforgettable characters like Uzo Aduba’s “Suzanne,” Kate Mulgrew’s “Red” and Laverne Cox’s “Sophia.”
When it first debuted, OITNB embraced a no-nonsense, “take-no-prisoner” approach to the corrections system, while examining mental health, feminism and lgbt subject matters. It’s also partially responsible for binge-watching becoming a part of our viewing habits.
Often funny, often dramatic, the series’ first few seasons fell into the “Have to watch now” category. Hence, binging. However, the story quickly found its central character (Schilling’s Chapman) pushed to the side because, quite frankly, she was tedious and boring when compared to the other colorful and better developed characters.
But the dramedy did earn 20 deserved Emmy nominations and a place in TV history. The cast announced via Twitter its future:
Warning: This may make you cry. The Final Season, 2019. #OITNB pic.twitter.com/bUp2yY0aoK
— Orange Is the New… (@OITNB) October 17, 2018
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Fans of the show may be heartbroken, but creator Jenji Kohan seems ready to move on if you judge her quote in Variety.
“After seven seasons, it’s time to be released from prison. I will miss all the badass ladies of Litchfield and the incredible crew we’ve worked with. My heart is orange but fade to black.”
At first, it seemed like Netflix would never cancel shows, but that seemed to change with Hulu and Amazon both coming on strong with their creative. Expensive duds like The Getdown and Marvel’s Iron Fist did not live beyond two seasons. It would seem that Netflix is beginning to take a harder look at all of its programming.
Season 6′s 13 episodes had an “average-minute audience” of 2.56 million domestic viewers in the first three days on the streaming platform, according to data Nielsen provided for Variety.
Source: Variety