'Orange Is the New Black' Season 5 Premiere Set for June 9 on Netflix

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, February 19, 2017

"Orange Is the New Black" Season 5 will start on Friday, June 9, on Netflix. Although June is still a few months away, the wait will be very much worth it to see how season 4's cliffhanger turns out.

E! News has the scoop on what is coming up in season 5. Fresh out of a win in the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the stars of the Netflix series hinted at the what the viewers can expect. Danielle Brooks, who plays Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson, described how the structure of the show has been radically changed. The entire course of the season — all 13 episodes of it — will cover the events of three intense days in the penitentiary. "So, it will be very detailed, very intense, and you better get ready. Get your popcorn, your tissues, everything." Brooks forewarned the viewers.

"I think the stakes are higher in this season than they have been in a while just by virtue of the compressed time and seeing people in compressed circumstance really raises the stakes," Taylor Schilling said of the new time frame for the story. Schilling plays Piper Chapman.

The episodes leading up to the season 4 finale has been steadily building up the conflict in Litchfield until it became a powder keg of tension, ready to explode. The overcrowding, abusive guards and deteriorating conditions all come to a head when the prison officers overstep their roles, eventually resulting in Poussey Washington's (Samira Wiley) death.

All hell breaks loose when facility director Joe Caputo (Nick Sandow) refuses to fire Baxter "Gerber" Bayley (Alan Aisenberg) for accidentally causing Poussey's death. Taystee incites the inmates to march in protest, and in so doing comes across Thomas "Humps" Humphrey (Michael Torpey) and Artesian McCullough (Emily Tarver).

Humphrey fumbles and drops the gun he's been hiding when Maritza Ramos (Diane Guerrero) pushes him. The gun clatters to Dayanara "Daya" Diaz's (Dascha Polanco) feet. Daya picks it up, and season 4 ends with Daya aiming the cocked gun at Humphrey's head while the inmates cheer her on.

Netflix has already commissioned three more seasons of the comedy drama series, extending the show up to season 7.

Watch the "Orange Is the New Black" Season 5 release announcement video below.