Orange is the New Black

{via}
So, who's watching? I watched the first season of Orange is the New Black in its entirety the weekend it came out, having coincidentally completed binge-watching Weeds about a week before OITNB became available on Netflix (Jenji Kohan is the creator of both, and was also a producer on Gilmore Girls, so really the woman can do no wrong).

{via}
If you're not familiar with the premise, here it is in a nutshell: Piper is sentenced to 15 months in prison for transporting money for her drug dealer girlfriend-- a crime she committed one time in her twenties. Piper (Taylor Schilling) has since cut ties with the shady characters of her past and is living a quiet life with her husband-to-be, Larry (Jason Biggs), and is about to launch a line of artisan bath products with her best friend when her past indiscretions come back to haunt her. The show follows Piper as she acclimates to life in prison, the story line shifting between the present and the past, allowing the viewer glimpses into the backgrounds of Piper and her fellow inmates. The show does a fantastic job of mixing comedy into what is a serious, dark subject matter and is unlike anything else on TV.

{via}
The show is based on the memoir of the same name, written by Piper Kerman. I started reading the book after watching season one and have been happy to see that the show stuck to the main points of Piper's story, just enhanced the plots and characters for TV. Having already watched the show it's also fun to recognize characters (I exclaimed "Tastee!" at the first mention of Delicious) and situations.

{Taylor Schilling and Piper Kerman, via}
Items that may be of interest if you're a fan...
- Here's the article the real Larry Smith wrote for The New York Times about his fiance's jail time
- From BuzzFeed: 23 Surprising Facts About "Orange is the New Black" (number one was like "duh!")
- Piper Kerman on the prison system