Orange Is the New Black is a comedy-drama television series produced by Jenji Kohan. The memoir revolves around Piper Kerman’s encounters at the federal jail with minimum security, FCI Danbury.
Taylor Schilling plays Piper Chapman, a public relations executive with a career and fiancé at the core of the series, who unexpectedly finds herself reliving her past. Piper Chapman received a sentence of fifteen months at the women’s minimum security federal prison located in Upstate New York, Litchfield Penitentiary. Piper was found guilty of delivering a suitcase containing drug money for Alex Vause, her girlfriend, played by Laura Prepon. Netflix offers streaming access to the entire series, which includes all seven seasons.
Orange Is the New Black Cast
The Jenji Kohan-created program ran for seven seasons between 2013 and 2019, making it one of Netflix’s longest-running original series to date. Orange Is the New Black has received 21 Emmy nominations throughout the years, along with four wins, including Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. The quartet, which also comprises Uzo Aduba, Laverne Cox, and Natasha Lyonne, took home three SAG Awards between 2015 and 2017.
After presenting complex female characters and creating space for LGBTQ romances to develop on screen, Orange Is the New Black has left a lasting impact. Schilling expressed her greatest want for “people to feel seen, and that there’s a reflection in the series of what has been happening to the cultural collective” before season 7 debuted in 2019, as she told Entertainment Weekly. The Orange Is the New Black cast of characters is shown here.
Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman
In the film, Taylor Schilling plays Piper Chapman, a Brooklyn-based artisan bath soap company entrepreneur who is engaged to Larry Bloom. The relationship between Piper and Larry is strained after Piper receives a 15-month prison sentence for bringing a suitcase of drug money for her partner, Alex Vause, to Belgium.
When Piper self-surrenders at the Litchfield Penitentiary, they discover that Alex is housed there, which further complicates matters between Piper and Larry. As their affections deepen, Piper and Alex decide to get married while incarcerated. While Alex must wait until Piper completes her stay at the Penitentiary, Piper is released early at the end of Season 6.
Laura Prepon as Alex Vause
The character of Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon, is cunning and streetwise. She is incarcerated for drug trafficking for a global cartel and for breaking her parole. It’s common to see Alex reading, and she usually keeps to herself emotionally.
After meeting again in Litchfield, Piper and Alex resume their romantic relationship and engage in a passionate liaison while incarcerated. The show’s third season features the arrival of Lolly Whitehill as a new prisoner. Lolly begins to watch Alex with an obsession, which makes Vause suspicious that Lolly is trying to kill her.
Uzo Aduba as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren
The character played by Uzo Aduba is Suzanne Warren, popularly known as “Crazy Eyes,” an intellectual but socially awkward woman who frequently experiences emotional outbursts and delusions when her mental illness agitates her. Involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping are the reasons Suzanne is serving a 15-year jail sentence.
A small kid who regularly shopped with his family was someone Suzanne used to greet customers for. She thought the boy and her were friends. When Suzanne asks the boy to play games at her house, he gets scared and wants to go back. The youngster panics and tries to flee out of a window, but he falls as Suzanne becomes irritated when he tries to call for aid.
Suzanne develops an obsession with Piper while inside; she calls Piper “Dandelion” and asks to share a bunk with her. Piper declines Suzanne’s overtures, telling her that she has a fiancé. Later, in her bunk room, Suzanne urinates on Piper’s floor. Suzanne and Pennsatucky form an odd connection towards the end of the series, and Pennsatucky helps Suzanne see how unfair the legal system is.
Danielle Brooks as Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson
Before entering prison, Danielle Brooks‘ character, Tasha Jefferson, often known as Taystee, was placed in appalling foster care. Due to her parole violations and involvement with Vee’s drug enterprise, Tasha is currently serving time in prison.
Taystee locates her best friend Poussey and her prison family. But Taystee wants justice for her friend’s death and leads the jail riot after Poussey is choked to death by a guard during a protest. After Taystee is falsely accused of CO Piscatella’s murder during the riot, he is sentenced to life in prison.
Yael Stone as “Lorna La Loca” Morello
Yael Stone plays the role of Lorna Morello, also referred to as “Lorna La Loca,” a hopeless romantic who is arranging her wedding to “Christopher.” Morello was convicted of stalking, harassing, and attempting to kill someone. Additionally, Lorna and fellow prisoner Nicky Nichols had a sexual relationship.
When an inmate has an appointment, Lorna drives the van for them. Lorna chooses to seize the opportunity when she is left alone for a few hours. After breaking into Christopher’s home, Morello takes a bath, puts on Christopher’s fiancé’s wedding veil, and leaves.
Dascha Polanco as Dayanara “Daya” Diaz
Played by Dascha Polanco, Dayanara Diaz, also known as Daya, is incarcerated due to drug-related allegations involving her mother Aleida’s lover. Daya was later found guilty of killing CO Humphrey during the prison uprising and given a life sentence.
Daya’s mother, Aleida, gives her a face slap the moment she gets to Litchfield on the same day Piper does. Their connection is difficult, to say the least. Daya and CO Bennett fall in love and have a sexual relationship quite fast in the first season.
After Daya becomes pregnant, she hatches a scheme to have CO George “Pornstache” Mendez appear to be the father to send Bennett to prison for rape. She doesn’t want to put Bennett in danger.
Selenis Leyva as Gloria Mendoza
Gloria Mendoza, played by Selenis Leyva, is incarcerated for using her store to commit food stamp fraud. Gloria is reluctant to do any wrongdoing that would compromise her ability to get out of Litchfield. Gloria takes over the kitchen and becomes protective of her jail family once Red’s smuggling operation is discovered.
Gloria arranges for Benny to carpool with Sophia’s wife and their kid, Michael, since she wants her son, Benny, to see Litchfield more frequently. Not everything goes according to plan when Michael gets into a fight with another child and Sophie accuses Benny of having a terrible influence on him.
Later, after a verbal argument, Sophia tries to apologize to Gloria, but instead, she pushes her against a wall, giving Gloria a black eye.
Taryn Manning as Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett
Tiffany Doggett also referred to as Pennsatucky, is played by Taryn Manning. While Tiffany is incarcerated for the murder of a clinic nurse, she reflects on the number of abortions Pennsatucky has had.
Tiffany harasses everyone she disapproves of while preaching about God. Tiffany and Carrie Black are very close, and Big Boo supports Tiffany after she is raped. Tiffany later attempts to kill Piper because she disapproves of Piper and Alex’s relationship. However, Tiffany ends up having her teeth punched out and receives a brand-new set of teeth later on in the series.
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Samira Wiley as Poussey Washington
Starring as Taystee’s sweetest buddy and former army brat, Poussey Washington is played by Samira Wiley. For a petty drug offense, Poussey is incarcerated for six years. In the library where Poussey produces booze, Taystee works beside him.
During a nonviolent demonstration against Piscatella’s treatment of the prisoners, Suzanne exhibits emotional outbursts. Poussey tries to comfort her. Kneeling on Poussey’s back, CO Bayley suffocates her till she passes away. Leading up to the prison uprising, this scene is among the most devastating in the entire series.
Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset
Sophia Burset, played by Laverne Cox, is a hairstylist in a jail who appears to enjoy her work at the salon. Due to credit card fraud, Sophia is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. Sophia is turned in to the police by her son Michael, who is upset by her transition
As her hormone medication is taken away, Sophia copes with the persecution she receives from guards and other inmates who are transphobic. Sofia is a nice and compassionate individual who waits to take revenge on others until she believes she is in danger.
Elizabeth Rodriguez as Aleida Diaz
Starring as Daya’s mother and a strong character, Aleida Diaz is played by Elizabeth Rodriguez. Aleida has unusual parenting methods and is egotistical and self-centered.
Piper, Sophia, and Aleida are all granted early releases; but, following an argument with the man who had been having an affair with her teenage daughter, Aleida is sent back to jail. The news that Daya recruited her teenage sister to assist her in smuggling drugs into the prison infuriates Aleida. When we last see the mother-daughter pair fighting, Aleida is strangling Daya.
Jackie Cruz as Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales
Jackie Cruz portrays Marisol Gonzales, well known as Flaca, a prisoner serving time for passing along phony LSD to her fellow students, which causes one of them to leap from the building’s roof.
Despite having a close bond, Flaca and Maritza parted ways following the prison incident. When Flaca returns to cook in the ICE detention center kitchen in Season 7, she discovers Maritza being imprisoned by ICE. When Flaca and Maritza are at last reunited, things don’t go as planned because of Maritza’s immigration problems at the detention facility.
Adrienne C. Moore as Cynthia “Black Cindy”
Adrienne C. Moore portrays Cynthia Hayes, popularly referred to as Black Cindy, who is incarcerated for stealing while working for the TSA. Having grown up in a Christian household, Cindy eventually converted to Judaism, got baptized in Litchfield Lake, and started eating kosher food while incarcerated.
Before Vee gets to the prison and starts blaming Cindy for her heroin being missing, Cindy develops friendships with Taystee and Poussey. Following the prison riot, Cindy is granted early release since she provided evidence against Taystee at CO Piscatell’s murder trial. She had to betray her pal to avoid getting extra time behind bars.
Jessica Pimentel as Maria Ruiz
The character Maria Ruiz, played by Jessica Pimentel, is pregnant at the start of the series and ultimately develops postpartum depression. When the number of Dominicans incarcerated starts to rise, Maria assumes a leadership position at Litchfield.
Throughout the series, Maria has gained several opponents as a result of the riot, but Gloria is her greatest foe. While serving her sentence for trafficking in fake jeans, Maria received an additional ten years since she took part in the prison riot. Gloria made sure to bring up the fact that Ruiz was the mastermind of the entire ruckus, along with a few other ladies.
Diane Guerreo as Maritza Ramos
Starring as the spunky, naive, and self-absorbed Maritza Ramos is Diane Guerrero. Maritza is Aleida’s jail kid as well as Flaca’s closest friend. Ramos is incarcerated for her involvement in an attempted automobile theft that went awry.
When Daya, Aleida’s real daughter, arrives in Litchfield, Maritza finds herself at odds with her. Maritza is eventually freed from prison, but she is still in New York City on parole. Maritza is taken into custody by ICE when they show up during a raid at a bar without her ID. Flaca tries to assist Maritza in contacting her mother to obtain her birth certificate when she is taken to the ICE detention facility.
Laura Gómez as Blanca Flores
Blanca Flores, a Dominican serving a jail sentence for aiding her employer in the cover-up of a hit-and-run, is played by Laura Gómez. When Blanca initially appears in the series, she is shown as being a little crazy and talking to herself in the jail restroom. A disguised cell phone in the bathroom stall is subsequently found by Piper to be the means of communication between Blanca and her boyfriend, Diablo.
Maria is informed by Blanca that it appears that the COs solely halt and frisk non-Caucasian prisoners, which is not only meaningless but also dehumanizing. CO Stratman tells Blanca she has to take a shower or else he will be appalled by her body odor and will take action. Blanca covers herself in any foul-smelling food she can find since she doesn’t want to follow his instructions. After learning about the situation, CO Stratman punishes Blanca by having her stand on a table in the cafeteria without any food or drink.
Lea DeLaria as Carrie “Big Boo” Black
Carrie Black, sometimes known as Big Boo or Boo, is portrayed by Lea DeLaria. Big Boo, who helps Vee and Nicky distribute narcotics, is not always faithful to Red, even though Carrie Black is a member of Red’s prison family. After finding out what CO Coates, also known as “Donuts,” did to Tiffany, Big Boo, who is friends with Tiffany, become too protective of Pennsatucky and sought revenge against him.
Big Boo, the new senior vice president of MCC, strikes up a romantic relationship with Linda during the jail uprising, and they unintentionally end up locked in with the prisoners. When Big Boo discovers Linda’s identity, she is turned over to the other prisoners as retaliation for Litchfield’s bad living circumstances. Linda poses as a convict.
Nick Sandow as Joe Caputo
The lead actor Nick Sandow plays Joe Caputo, the guard’s captain before he becomes a warden. Caputo is a bass player in his band Side Boob when he isn’t working at Litchfield. Though he gives the impression of being a pervert, Caputo is sincere in his concern for the ladies incarcerated and is honest.
Joe tries to assist Taystee during her trial following the prison riot but ultimately decides to become a teacher to oversee a restorative justice program for the prisoners in Litchfield. Natalie Figueroa, commonly known as “Fig,” was the warden’s executive assistant at Litchfield Penitentiary, and the two later decided to adopt a kid together. Joe also develops love feelings for Fig.
Summary
Each character faces challenges and growth within the prison system, tackling issues of justice, mental health, relationships, and survival. The series delves into their backgrounds, struggles, and interactions, offering a poignant and sometimes humorous insight into life behind bars.
‘Orange Is the New Black’ leaves a lasting impact by providing a platform for underrepresented stories, aiming to reflect the cultural experiences of many and creating space for diverse narratives and representation on television.”