Orange Is The New Black. And hispanic. And lesbian. And trans...

When you are a ‘bit blue’ (re- diagnosed clinical depression) you watch a lot of TV. It doesn’t have to be good TV, you’re only watching it in an attempt to distract yourself from how shit you are, but it helps if it a bit good, at least. After watching Life In The Fab Lane (a reality tv show built around the life of ex-model and ex wife of Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simons- exactly) for three straight days, and nights too, I was thought I’d give Netflix’s hot new thing a chance to wow me.

I was feeling pretty un-wow-able; enter Orange Is The New Black.

For those yet to see it, Orange Is The New Black tells the story of Piper Chapman, a 34 year old white, middle class, pretty, blonde lady beginning a 15 month sentence at a Connecticut prison for carrying drug money across the border 10 years ago whilst in a lesbian relationship with pro drug smuggler Alex.

Although confronted with bare breasts in the first scene of the show, a sure sign that it's going to be 'edgy', I approached Orange Is The New Black with caution. I assumed that it would be like any other fish-out-of-water comedy. Privileged white lady is thrown into a prison full of hostile lesbians. After awkward encounters in the shower and being left out at lunch she befriends her fellow inmates one by one, experiencing a meaningful encounter with each one in which it’s revealed that they do have something in common after all, and episode by episode she makes the prison a better place.

Alarm bells did ring when Piper offends the prison's cook, Red, and is consequently 'starved out' for a few days; a punishment that she manages to overcome by making a special cream (leave it, she has her own line of “artisan soaps” on the outside) for Red's sore back.

However, I was wrong, of course.

Piper is merely our 'in'; she's how we as viewers get into the prison, but after a couple of episodes her story is often of secondary importance to those of her fellow inmates. Through a series of flashbacks we begin to find out more about them and 'what they're in for', leaving us more interested in them than we are in Piper.

Most of the inmates are from minority groups and it's refreshing to see their stories and voices privileged, rather than woven into the story of the protagonist as a bit of something extra.

Finally, we see a trans character played by a trans actress; in this instance it's Laverne Cox playing the role of Sophia. Whilst her storyline does mainly revolve around her new identity as a woman, it makes a change from what seems to be the norm of wheeling the 'tranny' out for a bit of comic relief.

Of course, the elephants in the room when discussing any kind of prison are sex and sexuality; elephants that Orange Is The New Black manages to separate and look after very well. It would be very easy for the show to become 'that show where women get off with each other' (Sugar Rush, anyone?) but sex scenes are almost always in the background of a scene, therefore removing a lot of the sensationalism that often surrounds gay and lesbian sex scenes and instead normalising them. As a result, lesbian inmates are given story lines that serve to identify them as something other than LESBIAN. Their sexuality is more of an after-thought, rather than their definitive 'characteristic'.

The majority of the male characters are particularly gross. They all hold positions of power, whether within the prison or outside of it, and they all use this for their own gain. It's hard to pick who is the most repulsive; the lecherous masturbating prison counsellor, the homophobic social worker or the drug-pushing, rape-threatening prick that is Correctional Officer Mendez. Oh ok, maybe it’s not that hard.

Even Piper's seemingly harmless fiancé Larry got struck off of my Christmas card list mid series after giving a radio interview detailing how difficult Piper's incarceration is for him.

The one redeeming male character amongst them is CO Bennett; a young officer who falls in love with Daya, an inmate. Whilst some have criticised the depiction of their relationship, I struggle to find them anything other than totes adorbz and their relationship heart-breakingly tragic.

The underlying theme throughout Orange Is The New Black, for me at least, seems to be power; either the lack of it, the struggle to gain it or the realisation that, regardless of what you do, sometimes you just have it. The latter is particularly true in the case of Piper, who throughout the series begins to realise that she has previously taken her power for granted. Often she is awarded privileges over her inmates due to university education; an education made available to her as a result of her race and class.

Speaking of race, the characterisation of the black and hispanic inmates is perhaps one of the few places when Orange Is The New Black slips up a little. Both races seem to adhere to stereotypes and the characters that are offered up are often loud, aggressive and sexualised. When the inmates are given the chance to form a Women's Advisory Council, it is Piper who is shown to be an advocate for political change, where as the black and hispanic representatives ask for seemingly trivial changes, like more fried chicken and an extra pillow. While some of these characters seem a little two dimensional, some do act as valuable tools in highlighting race inequality over in America; Taystee's return to the prison after her brief release shows the sad and sobering reality that, due to extreme poverty and lack of opportunity and support, for some inmates life inside prison is easier than it is on the outside.

So, although there may be a few hiccups, Orange Is The New Black is pretty much 'there' for me. It's a prison drama that isn't too grim but equally it doesn't gloss over the harsh realities of prison to the extent that life inside is depicted as, to quote Jez from Peep Show, “one long hen night.” With a sudden influx of drug-based dramas crossing over the Atlantic, I'm glad the girls are getting in on the action. Even if they are being punished for it...