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27 December 2016

Orange Is the New Black shows what internet television can do

By Bernardine Evaristo

Set in a women’s prison in America, Orange Is the New Black is a drama based on a memoir by Piper Kerman about her time spent inside for money laundering. This explains why the first series, at least, focuses on a middle-class white New Yorker, Piper Chapman, who is from the demographic least likely to end up in a federal penitentiary. I found this off-putting at first but the series is so good in so many ways that I soon overlooked it. Eventually, the character of Piper (Taylor Schilling) grew on me as she changed from someone used to comfort and privilege into a badass ball-breaker intent on flouting the rules of her imprisonment.

The series is exceptional because – in a world where most television dramas have more male than female characters – it features a predominantly female cast who exist in a micro-universe of woman-centredness. Female power play is amplified, their relationships are intensified and lesbianism is a significant motif (there is plenty of graphic sex). Nor is the cast made up of the usual pretty, skinny sylphs who are allowed to grace our screens. These are normal-looking actors who are fantastically talented and individual.

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