Unlike House of Cards, which has taken a noticeable dip over the last two seasons in comparison to its stellar first two seasons of the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black has been getting consistently better over each season. The first season was hampered by the largely innocuous relationship between Taylor Schilling's Piper and her boyfriend, Larry (Jason Biggs), a narrative hinge that undermined the vast sense of character that the show has since realized. As that romance got more complicated and ultimately became less important to the narrative, however, the series has become far more emotionally challenging, socially aware, and nuanced in its depictions of the different histories and polemical events that have formed the inmates and the staff of Litchfield.
Season 4 looks to continue to build the frenzied interpersonal conflicts that have made Season 2 and 3 so memorable and affective, at least that's the feeling I get from watching the first full trailer for the new season that Netflix put out today. Things look to be getting considerably worse for Piper, from the looks of things, and that's to be expected, considering the fact that she seemed to go all Walter White by the end of last season. It's a turn of character that I'm frankly loving, and if nothing else, I hope we get to see more of Piper as a natural manipulator and menacing presence in Season 4, though I get the feeling that they won't go too hard against the largely sympathetic treatment of Schilling's character thus far. Still, there seems to be plenty for fans of the series to sink their teeth into with this season from the looks of it, and starting June 17th, we'll get to see just how all this hashes out. Check out the trailer below.
Here's the trailer for Orange is the New Black Season 4:
