Danielle Brooks, who plays Taystee, confirmed in a red carpet interview with E! last month at the SAG Awards that the entire fifth season will take place over just three days. Those who are all caught up with season 4 (spoiler alerts) know that things were left with a massive cliffhanger, of sorts. (Don’t read further if you aren’t all caught up.)
Poussey (Samira Wiley) was just accidentally killed, the female inmates of Litchfield were at each other’s throats in more dangerous ways than ever, and the tensions among not only the inmates, but the inmates and the prison guards, had reached an all-time high. The final scene ended with Daya (Dasha Polanco) pointing a gun squarely at Thomas “Humps” Humphrey (Michael Torpey), one of the many guards the ladies had come to loathe, for understandable reasons. Will she pull the trigger? Aim it at him or someone else? Or retreat, despite other inmates urging her on?
Season 5 will most definitely cover what happens next, and the repercussions from it. Viewers can gear up for what is likely to be a truly intense next 13 episodes.
But it will by no means be the end of the story. As Netflix’s most-watched original series, Orange is the New Black has already been picked up for seasons 6 and 7. And Jenji Kohan, creator and showrunner, has signed on to sit at the helm of them all.
Along with the release date for season 5, Netflix also debuted a new 14-second teaser for the upcoming season, which showcases a myriad of angry, puzzled, confused, and shocked facial expressions, and ends with Daya’s gun pointed at the screen as she clearly tries to make a choice.
