Orange is back!
Netflix has just released the first images from Season 2 of its hit original show “Orange is the New Black,” which drops June 6.
When last we left the show — based on Park Slope author Piper Kerman’s memoir about her time in a women’s prison — protagonist Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) gave a bloody beatdown to Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett (Taryn Manning) in the prison yard during a Christmas pageant.
From the first image here, it looks like the season will pick up right where the last ended, with Chapman dealing with the aftermath of the confrontation. We know that Pennsatucky isn’t dead (Manning has been promoted to series regular this season), so the consequences of that confrontation will likely be a factor this season.
The second photo shows a face-off between Red (Kate Mulgrew) and new character Vee (Lorraine Toussaint), who has been described as a street tough who ran a drug business using children as runners. Red runs the prison kitchen and is somewhat the mother superior of the joint, but we still don’t know exactly what landed her in prison — so fans can expect more of her back story to be fleshed out this year.
The final new image looks like another one of the show’s moments of comedy packed in alongside all the prison community drama, where Taystee (Danielle Brooks), DeMarco (Lin Tucci), Nicky (Natasha Lyonne), Morello (Yael Stone), Flaca (Jackie Cruz), Taylor (Emma Myles) and Burset (Laverne Cox) participate in a seemingly awkward mock job fair.
The Netflix original from creator Jenji Kohan (“Weeds”) has won praise for its diversity of characters, including women of all body, economic, gender and sexuality types. As such, its main strength has been the strength of its ensemble cast, and its ability to unpack each character’s back story, making each much more than a background character in Chapman’s story.
Watch the teaser trailer here: