so, is orange the new black?

Last weekend I binge watched Orange is the New Black along with all the 22 - 35 year old women I know.

We tweeted, we texted, we Facebook posted without revealing too much stuff.

photo here

Why is this show so great? I mean, I watch a ton of TV, I have multiple multiple shows going at once yet I dropped everything to watch the new season and ended up finishing the 13 episodes by Monday at lunch.

1. Women? In prison? A women's prison? Yeah, you had me at prison. For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated with prison — what was it like? Why were people there? What did people do all day? I used to be obsessed with the show Lockup on MSNBC, spending an entire New Year's Day one year watching it with my hungover roommates. At an all women's prison in the south somewhere the women were shackled to desks and phones and ran the state's tourism bureau and I remember thinking — wait wut. They made probably $0.50/hour to rent vacation condos to my mom. While I realize OITNB isn't spot on with its message or depiction of prison the glimpses it offers don't seem too terribly far-fetched.
2. Women! So many amazing women! Old women! Tall women! Transgender women! All the women! I'm amazed at the cast, with each episode, with each flashback to a new woman before she came to the prison I'm astounded at the breadth of talent they have assembled for this amazing show. It is truly ground-breaking for the cast alone. Even if the show was garbage getting all these women in a room is a feat unto itself.
3. Those back stories. Last season was amazing, don't get me wrong, but the back stories of this season are incredible. From Miss Rosa, to Morello's dark past (didn't see that one coming!), to Poussey I looked forward to going backwards more and more with each story. In the end knowing the circumstances and situations that brought these women to prison really makes the show.

♢♢