Orange is the New Black just got some huge news today. We’ve known for a while now that Season 4 would be coming, but on Friday Netflix gave the series its biggest renewal order yet. Not only will Orange be back for Season 4, we’ll 100% be getting Seasons 5, 6 and 7, as well.
Netflix announced the news, and although we don’t know a ton about the upcoming seasons, one fact is very clear. Along with the renewal order, Jenji Kohan has committed to the series through Season 7, which means the streaming service will not have to deal with the hassle of losing its showrunner at any point.
This isn’t the first time a TV show has ever earned such a huge renewal order, but it is uncommon for Netflix to announce so many seasons in advance. Netflix is sometimes fond of early renewal orders; for instance, Season 4 was ordered in April of 2015, before Season 3 had officially hit the schedule. But three seasons is unprecedented for the service, and rivals the huge renewal order The Big Bang Theory earned a few seasons ago on CBS.
Netflix notoriously doesn’t release ratings for its originals, but a couple of years ago the streaming service announced that Orange is the New Black was the network’s most-watched original program. Of course, in the time since, Netflix has beefed up its originals, notably with Marvel content like Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but also a slew of other types of programs from Bloodline to BoJack Horseman and a TV version of Wet Hot American Summer. Still, it's safe to say that Orange is pretty popular among Netflix subscribers.
Series lead Piper Chapman was originally incarcerated at the beginning of the show’s run. The sentence she earned at the time was a mere 15 months, but having seen three seasons of the drama, I can say it has felt like quite a bit longer. Regardless, the timeline on the series isn’t year by year as a lot of shows are formatted, and presumably heading into Season 4, Chapman is still dealing with the same 15 month-long sentence. However, she’s currently running an illegal panty business within the prison, and if she gets caught, that could easily add time to her sentence, as I’m guessing Orange is the New Black will not want to stretch a 15-month sentence into seven seasons. Then again, maybe that's the plan.
We still have a while to wait for Season 4 to hit the schedule, so Seasons 5,6 and 7 are all quite some time away. Season 4 will premiere on Friday, June 17 at 12:01 a.m. PT. For now, you can check out what Netflix has coming up with our Netflix premiere schedule.
