Season 6 of ‘OITNB’ Features a New Cast Member and Opener
In just over a month, Orange Is the New Black will return to our living rooms, bringing with it all the cliff-hanging drama it left behind as Piper, Alex, Red, and company were trapped in a room awaiting their fate at the hands of the incoming guards. With a new team of writers — only two season 5 writers were hired back for season 6 — there was bound to be some changes in the upcoming season, but from the sounds of things, almost everything will be different this time around— including its opener.
The show debuted the new intro clip over on Twitter earlier this month. Eagle-eyed fans spotted differences in the form of the prison clips that were interspersed between close-ups of inmate faces. In place of the payphones the women once used at Litchfield, we now see new bunked rooms from the ladies’ new maximum security surroundings, as well as a shower area with — get this — handcuffs. Yikes!
Also new to the show will be Tina Swope, a character played by Rebecca Knox. The actress described her character in an interview with Seat42F by saying, “She is a tough little thing. She knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it.”
As for the show’s returning roles, their status remains largely unknown, sans for Dasha Polanca, AKA Daya, who spoke to the New York Post about her pregnant character.
“I can’t give too much away,” she said. “But let’s just say Daya will be dealing with a lot of same issues America’s impacted by today. Meaning she’s a victim, but surviving. I mean, every victim is a survivor, right?”
Her quotes made perfect sense when considering the time jump creator Jenji Kohan told The New York Times would be happening back in June of last year. “We want to address current thoughts and feelings, so we may abandon the timeline,” she shared. “Piper will still have served the same amount of time, but we will be in the present day.”
Season 6 of OITNB will premiere on Netflix on July 27.
Are you excited for season 6? Sound off over @BritandCo.
(Photos via John Sciulli/Getty)