‘Orange is the New Black’ is back this week, so what’s changing?

Netflix’s Orange is the New Black is set to start its third season this week, being available to stream on Saturday (June 12 at 3 a.m. ET/ 12 midnight PT). There hasn’t been much released plot-wise to what’s going to happen to our favourite Litchfield Penitentiary residents, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be excited for its return.

The show was Netflix’s first big unexpected breakout hit. Before Orange, the network’s primary offerings were House of Cards, Arrested Development and Hemlock Grove. While Netflix dabbled in original programming, the company wasn’t known for producing consistent quality content because it had yet to venture deeply into that area. Orange turned out to be a huge hit, as more people tuned into it than Arrested Development — which was surprising, considering the show didn’t have a ton of hype, had a mostly unknown cast and debuted on a streaming platform. While that’s starting to become more and more like the norm these days, Netflix showed you can create quality programming without being on television.

As Variety reported last year, tons of people tuned into the show on the streaming platform.

“Despite high awareness, fewer than half of Netflix users have ever watched one of the company’s two big originals, according to a new study from research and consulting firm Centris Marketing Science. Centris found that 44% of Netflix members have ever watched “OITNB,” while 31% said the same for “House of Cards.” Among Netflix subs, 94% have heard of “OITNB” and 89% have heard of “HoC” (while 72% of non-subscribers said they were aware of either series). For the study, Centris polled 562 U.S. households from July 17-20.”

Orange was a huge success, earning Emmy nominations and wins, critical acclaim, and becoming one of the most popular shows on the planet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njy0dFFlpAc

So what’s changing in the upcoming season? First of all, Laura Prepon’s Alex is back. Prepon only appeared in four episodes of season two after being a regular during the first season. She apparently had a conflicting schedule with the filming of last season and was initially only slated to appear in one episode.

“It sucked because [show creator] Jenji Kohan and I wanted me to be in [season two] more, but with the schedule, it didn’t happen,” Prepon told Uproxx. “I was so bummed out. But I handled it, so I’m in every [episode] in season three. It is so good.”

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Prepon pre-Orange, but her character is so key that it opens up much more possibilities with her sticking around.

A bunch more characters were promoted to series regulars, including Selenis Leyva’s Gloria Mendoza, Adrienne C. Moore’s Cindy “Black Cindy” Hayes, Dascha Polanco’s Dayanara “Daya” Diaz, Yael Stone’s Lorna Morello, and Samira Wiley’s “Poussey” Washington. Newcomer Ruby Rose (Around the Block) is also set to join the cast.

One cast member isn’t returning. Jason Biggs — who plays Larry Bloom, Piper’s ex-fiance — was confirmed to be leaving the show last year. This is great news. One of the biggest flaws of the show was that Piper’s outside life wasn’t that interesting. Season one spent a significant amount of time developing that plot, and every time it went there, we just wanted to return to prison. Biggs himself was an odd fit on the show. When I first heard about the series, something that turned me away from watching it — until I read reviews about how good it was — was casting the American Pie star as one of the main characters. With Larry now gone, the show may veer into deeper territory with Piper and Alex’s relationship.

Aside from those changes, all your favourite Orange is the New Black stars from season two are returning. I’ve seen almost every single series Netflix has produced, and Orange is the New Black is among the best — if not the best. There’s not a better cast or better acting on a current TV show. The chances of me binging the entire season in less than a week is very likely. I’ll have more to talk about after that.