Orange is the New Black returns, darker and more relevant than ever
Fourth season of Netflix prison drama is more tuned in than ever to the world beyond the jail, as the series tackles societal issues – especially race and civil liberties – from the inside out
There’s only one television at Litchfield, the fictional prison at the centre of Orange is the New Black, and the inmates are usually arguing over it. While some want to watch entertainment, news does occasionally seep in.
Season four is more tuned in than ever to the world beyond the prison, as the show tackles societal issues – especially race and civil liberties – from the inside out.
In the first of this season’s 13 episodes released in its entirety last week, Litchfield gets an influx of new inmates – one of many consequences of the formerly US federal institution being sold to the private outfit Management & Correction Corporation (MCC).
Aleida Diaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez), one of the prison’s more blunt inmates, puts it this way: “It’s sardine time, bitches. We a for-profit prison now. We ain’t people no more. We bulk items.”