Why was Orange is the New Black cancelled by Netflix?
Netflix may currently seem intent on cutting down every homegrown show in its prime - we're still not over Santa Clarita Diet - but there is at least one series that the streaming giant can't be accused of ditching too early.
Flagship drama Orange is the New Black was given a fitting send-off after a whopping 91 episodes and seven seasons, their first adult original to reach such a landmark. And unlike the makers of recent axings Tuca and Bertie, Chambers and She's Gotta Have It, creator Jenji Kohan was fully on-board with the decision.
Back in 2017 – just before its ambitious riot-focused fifth season aired – the Emmy winner told the New York Times that she was "leaning towards" a seventh season farewell.
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Not that Kohan isn't sad to see the back of the prison drama, which helped to put Netflix on the map. Following the official announcement about the show's fate last October, she said, "After seven seasons, it's time to be released from prison. I will miss all the badass ladies of Litchfield and the incredible crew we’ve worked with. My heart is orange but fade to black."
Cindy Holland, the vice president of Netflix Originals, was also keen to state that the likes of Piper, Red and Pennsatucky will be sorely missed: "We will be sad to say goodbye but we will definitely be going out on a high. We are grateful to Jenji Kohan and her ground-breaking vision; to her supremely talented team of writers and producers; and to a once-in-a-lifetime cast and crew for creating a truly special work of art that has inspired conversations and connected audiences around the world."
It was a sentiment echoed by the chairman of OITNB's production company, Lionsgate Television Group Kevin Biggs, who said: "Thanks to the brilliance of Jenji Kohan, the mastery of the creative and production team, the transcendent cast, and our tremendous partnership with Netflix, the series has surpassed our expectations year after year. With great pride, we are working together to bring this landmark series to a triumphant, satisfying close with the upcoming seventh season."
Thankfully, the "transcendent" cast also appeared to recognise that the show had run its natural course, but inevitably had mixed emotions about the news.
Taylor Schilling, who played the show's divisive lead Piper, told The Hollywood Reporter, "It’s a very kind of surreal time. It’s as surreal as it was when the thing came out of the gate and was so powerful those first few seasons. It’s equally as surreal now to be ending it all."
Related: What happened to Orange Is the New Black's Piper in real life?
Selenis Leyva, better-known as mother figure Gloria, posted on Instagram, "OITNB has changed my life and introduced me to so many wonderful people from around the world! With this official message of the end of our run, my heart is a little heavy, BUT excited for what's ahead."
And in a cast-led one-minute video captioned "Warning: This will make you cry," Kate Mulgrew said, "I'm going to miss playing and living on the edge of one of the most ground-breaking, original and controversial series of this decade."
With such a sprawling cast and a revolving door setting which makes it easy to say both hello to new faces and goodbye to the familiar, OITNB certainly had enough scope to run and run until it inevitably slipped into irrelevance.
But with the sixth season's finale launching Piper back into the big wide world, delivering Taystee's heartbreaking trial verdict and completing Daya's descent from naïve new arrival to heroin-addled lifer, the show appeared to have taken many of Litchfield’s most prominent players as far as they could go.
Related: Orange Is the New Black star Laura Gómez says ending at season 7 is the right decision
And with its cancellation seemingly a mutual agreement between its creator and its streaming home, OITNB has been giving the golden opportunity to finish on its own terms. It’s an all-too-rare luxury which Kohan has taken full advantage of, crafting a final season which once again deftly explores various timely, thorny issues most other dramas steer well clear of, offers just the right level of fan service and thankfully avoids the cliché of wrapping everything up with a giant red bow.
The decision to bring OITNB to a close was perhaps the right one, but it could also be considered a brave one for a company that will soon be competing with the much-hyped Disney+, Apple TV+ and Hulu, in addition to Amazon Prime and pretty much every other major TV network's very own streaming service.
Although Netflix remain frustratingly tight-lipped about its viewing figures, unofficial Nielsen ratings measured for last year's sixth season suggested OITNB was still drawing in the crowds.
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Although the show had fallen behind both Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why in the most-watched stakes, its opener pulled in an average minute audience of 5.3 million during its first three days on offer in the US (via IndieWire).
This figure far surpassed season debuts of more recent original hits such as The Crown and Glow.
And with 16 Emmy nods and four wins (two of which went to Uzo Aduba) under its belt, as well as recognition at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, Netflix also now finds itself without one of its biggest awards darlings.
However, as Netflix’s recent revivals of Lost in Space, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Queer Eye have shown, no TV show is ever truly dead, and less than a month after OITNB’s final season was announced, talk began of a possible spinoff.
And that talk came from a credible source too, Lionsgate Chairman Kevin Biggs, who told The Hollywood Reporter: "Keep in mind we own that series and will be distributing it for years to come. We're already in discussions and, when the timing is right, we'll talk further with Jenji about a potential sequel."
Executive producer Tara Herrmann even went further by discussing some possible spinoff ideas in an interview with the same publication. We quite like the idea of a Broadway production, although we can't see even the most dedicated fans looking forward to a series focusing on Piper’s old boyfriend Larry and ex-best friend Polly.
One OITNB star who's confirmed she'd be open to a near-future return to Litchfield is MCC's mean girl boss Linda.
Actress Beth Dover told Metro: "All of these characters will have many other things happen to them throughout the years, so yeah, I think that [a spinoff] would be an incredible thing. Or even if it was a movie, who knows. I have no say in any of that, but I think fans would like it. I’m sure it would be a really amazing thing to do."
Of course, no doubt that most viewers would be interested in an OITNB revival somewhere down the line. But let’s hope that the producers give us all enough time to digest the events of its tragic and triumphant final season first.
Orange is the New Black is available to stream on Netflix.
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