In the sentimental wake of watching the final episodes of eight seasons of Weeds, a confluence of three events pushed me into the arms of a new Netflix drama: Orange is the New Black (OITNB). Oh and I am glad they did!The first was so simple I almost considered leaving it off the list: internal Netflix advertising. I am not sure when I first noticed it, but the OITNB backdrop poster on the Netflix homepage made it abundantly clear the creator was Jenji Kohan, the same woman responsible for my Weeds addiction. I know Netflix watches what I watch – it picked up on my penchant for dramas with female leads and sassy humor at a speed I found almost embarrassing – so it is not surprising they would see OITNB as a natural jump for me. Kohan alone would likely have been enough to convince me to try the show, but two additional events delivered my final sentence.
The second occurred while I was flowing through my pre-work morning routine: a story told on The Moth podcast by Piper Kerman, who served a year in prison and wrote the memoir that inspired the Netflix series. Kerman humanizes the prison experience and will leave you a little more appreciative of movies with sound if you listen to her story here. The story was released June 24, but I was behind on my podcasts and only heard it a day or two before the July 11 Netflix release of season one.
The third and final endorsement for the show came just the day before the release and was featured on one of my favorite NPR programs: Marketplace. Kai Ryssdal spoke to Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix, on the secret foundation of Netflix original content. You can listen to the interview here, but I can summarize it in two words: viewer data. Netflix probably knows more about my viewing habits than I do, but that means they can deliver a home run show without the fuss pilots and commercials, and if that is the case, I am happy to provide my data.
So it was on July 11, I found myself filling the fresh void created by the show finale of Weeds with the harsh pictorial rush of the opening to Orange is the New Black. By episode two, I was hooked. Before a month was up, I finished the season. (And I am sure it would have been sooner had I not had an eleven day excursion in the UK.) OITNB tackles the omnipresent issues of family, friendship, love, religion, gender, and politics, and uses the fishbowl of prison to challenge your comfortable norms. The show will force you to think twice about justice and the season finale will leave you on the edge of your seat. If you haven’t watched this show yet, what are you waiting for? Then call me and let’s discuss!