The second season of the American
comedy-drama television series ''
Orange Is the New Black'' premiered on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
on June 6, 2014, at 12:00 am
PST in multiple countries. It consists of thirteen episodes, each between 51–60 minutes, with a 90-minute finale. The series is based on
Piper Kerman
Piper Eressea Kerman (born September 28, 1969) is an American author. She was indicted in 1998 on charges of felonious money-laundering activities, and sentenced to 15 months' detention in a federal correctional facility, of which she eventually ...
's memoir, ''
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison'' (2010), about her experiences at
FCI Danbury
The Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury (FCI Danbury) is a low-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Danbury, Connecticut. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Depar ...
, a minimum-security
federal prison. The series is created and adapted for television by
Jenji Kohan
Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Weeds'' and the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black''. ...
.
The series follows
Piper Chapman
Piper Elizabeth Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling) is the protagonist of the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black''. The character is based on Piper Kerman, author of the non-fiction book '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pris ...
, forced to board a bus and a plane without being given any information. Later she discovers that she is in Chicago to testify in the trial of Alex's drug boss, Kubra Balik, and that the stay is temporary. Meanwhile, in Litchfield Penitentiary, a new inmate is rising to power into the prison, by manipulating other inmates and taking control of the drug contraband. Threatened by this new inmate, Red goes to war, to protect her family and her power.
''Orange is the New Black'' received critical acclaim. The series received numerous accolades including:
Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy
The Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Comedy, also known as the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy, is an annual award given by the Producers Guild of America since 2000.
Previous PGA telev ...
and
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Uzo Aduba performance was awarded with the
and a
. The second season was nominated to several Emmys:
Outstanding Drama Series,
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad S ...
) and
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. The series was nominated for the
72nd Golden Globe Awards for
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, meanwhile
Taylor Schilling
Taylor Jane Schilling (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Pr ...
was nominated for
Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and Uzo Aduba for
Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
Lorraine Toussaint
Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...
won a
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Episodes
Cast and characters
Main cast
*
Taylor Schilling
Taylor Jane Schilling (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Pr ...
as
Piper Chapman
Piper Elizabeth Chapman (played by Taylor Schilling) is the protagonist of the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black''. The character is based on Piper Kerman, author of the non-fiction book '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pris ...
, inmate
*
Uzo Aduba
Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba (; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she won an E ...
as
Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren, inmate
*
Danielle Brooks
Danielle Brittany Brooks (born September 17, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on the comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) and Leota Adebayo on the super ...
as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson, inmate
*
Michael Harney
Michael John Harney is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is best known for starring on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' as Corrections Officer Sam Healy. In 2019, he had a recurring role in the Apple TV ...
as Sam Healy, correctional officer
*
Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she ...
as
Nicky Nichols
Nicole Nichols is a fictional character played by Natasha Lyonne on the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black''. She is a recurring character in season one and a main character from season two onwards. Lyonne received an Emmy nomination in 20 ...
, inmate
*
Taryn Manning
Taryn Manning is an American actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in the Netflix original series '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), Cherry in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2010), Nola in ''Hu ...
as
Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett, inmate
*
Kate Mulgrew
Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red on ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...
as Galina "Red" Reznikov, inmate
*
Jason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black''. He als ...
as Larry Bloom, Piper's fiancé
Recurring cast
Inmates
Production
On June 27, 2013, prior to the series premiere, Netflix renewed the show for a second season consisting of 13 episodes.
Jenji Kohan
Jenji Leslie Kohan (born July 5, 1969) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Weeds'' and the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black''. ...
stated that the story for the second season would focus less on Piper Chapman and more in the cast as a whole. For the second season, Uzo Aduba, Taryn Manning, Danielle Brooks, and Natasha Lyonne were promoted to series regulars. Laura Prepon did not return as a series regular for a second season because of scheduling conflicts. In July, it was announced that
Lorraine Toussaint
Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...
had joined the cast in a recurring role. Toussaint said of the role: "Jenji has written one of the more complex characters I've ever played, and probably one of the more difficult characters I've played. I think it'll be interesting seeing how this character is received, because Jenji has written a character that plays and enjoys the game, and is incredibly engaging and draws people into her, into the big game and has, I have a great deal of fun." It was revealed that
Lori Petty
Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), '' Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in '' Tank Girl' ...
would have a guest role. In February 2014, Netflix revealed that the season was to be released on June 6, 2014.
Reception
Critical reception
The second season received critical acclaim, many praising Toussaint's performance as Vee. Rotten Tomatoes gave a rating of 98%, with an average rating of 9.1 out of 10 based on 42 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "With a talented ensemble cast bringing life to a fresh round of serial drama, ''Orange Is the New Black's'' sophomore season lives up to its predecessor's standard for female-led television excellence. Metacritic gave the second season a score of 89 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." David Wiegland of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' gave the season a positive review, calling the first six episodes "not only as great as the first season, but arguably better."
Critics' top ten lists
''Orange Is the New Black'' was considered one of the best shows of the year by many critics and journalists.
* 2nd – ''The Star-Ledger''
* 3rd – ''
Akron Beacon Journal''
* 3rd – ''HitFix''
(Dan Fienberg)
* 3rd – ''
Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
* 3rd – ''Las Vegas Weekly''
* 3rd – ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''
* 3rd – ''Tampa Bay Times''
* 3rd – ''Village Voice''
* 4th – ''Paste''
* 4th – ''PopMatters''
* 4th – ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''
* 4th – ''
Us Weekly
''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...
''
* 5th – ''
Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
''
* 5th – ''Uncle Barky''
* 6th – ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
''
* 6th – ''HitFix''
(Alan Sepinwall)
* 6th – ''
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
''
* 6th – ''Sioux City Journal''
* 7th – ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
''
* 7th – ''San Jose Mercury News''
* 7th – ''Vox''
* 8th – ''Slate''
* 8th – ''Thompson on Hollywood!''
* 9th – ''
Digital Spy''
* 10th – ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
''
* – ''
Huffington Post''
* – ''Philadelphia Daily News''
* – ''ScreenCrush''
Broadcast
In Australia, the second season began airing on
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
on July 16, 2014.
References
External links
*
*
{{ScreenActorsGuildAwards EnsembleTVComedy 2010–2019
Orange Is the New Black
2014 American television seasons