Ginger Telly Man: Orange is the New Black

A new original show from Netflix, all 13 episodes dropped on July 11th for this female prison set comedy drama. Firstly I would just like to say I really love what Netflix is doing at the moment, I recently bulk-watched all the new episodes of Arrested Development when they became available on Netflix and I think this concept is changing the way we consume television.

Orange is the New Black is based on the true life memoir of Piper Kerman's (Piper Chapman in the show) year in prison, here played stunningly by Taylor Schilling. She is sent to prison for a 10 year old crime of smuggling drug money for her international drug smuggling lesbian lover Alex (played by "That 70's Show" Laura Prepon). Piper now a straight, engaged to married,  successful business woman must learn how to navigate and accept her new life behind bars for the next 15 months.

There is a lot to like about this show, firstly the cast is top notch and it is very refreshing to see such a primarily female cast portray such well written characters. The show packs an emotional punch and some episodes will have you reaching for those tissues however on the filp-side it is one of the funniest shows in years. This dual emotional roller-coaster is why I keep coming back for more (I am currently only 8 episodes in), one minute I am welling up and the next l am laughing so much I almost pee a little. One of the funniest moments for me is when two of the black inmates begin impersonating rich white women in the run up to an inmates union election, their impression is so spot-on and hilarious I was almost crying with laughter. Another great aspect is how LGBT characters are portrayed in this show, for once we are not the sidekicks, trotted out occasionally to provide comic relief, no in fact LGBT characters make up almost 50% of the cast in this show and make for well written and complex characters. In particular the portrayal of the post-op transgendered Sophia by Laverne Cox is one of the best examples I have ever seen of a portrayal of this type of storyline in television or film and ultimately one of the most heartbreaking.

I could go on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you all so maybe I'll do a followup post when the second series is about to drop but I will say this, find this show and watch it.

You can thank me afterwards.

GBM