Some of Netflix’s newest original programs may be debuting to mixed reviews, but the streaming platform’s stalwarts are going as strong as ever. On June 11th, the third season of Orange is the New Black premiered in its entirety, and the consensus among early reviewers is that the third trip to the Litchfield women’s prison lives up to–or even exceeds–the two previous seasons.
The third season of OITNB was initially slated for a June 12th release, but Netflix opted to distribute the new episodes of Jenji Kohan’s prison dramedy six hours early in order to coincide with OrangeCon, a large gathering of OITNB fans in New York City. At the event, the show’s cast members snapped pictures with fans and celebrated the arrival of the new season.
OITNB’s ensemble cast has always been one of its greatest strengths, and season three adds some new faces to its eclectic mix of characters. Australian actress Ruby Rose will portray Litchfield’s newest inmate, while stand-up comedian Mike Birbiglia will appear as one of the prison’s owners.
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Previous seasons of OITNB have garnered critical acclaim and award recognition, and season three has so far earned similar praise. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix was the most positive; he dubbed OITNB “one of TV’s very best shows, no matter how you slice it.” Beyond him, a quick trip to Metacritic reveals nearly universal acclaim for the new season.
As with most of Netflix’s other original series, all episodes of OITNB season three are available simultaneously. Hopefully, fans of the show didn’t make too many other plans this weekend.
