Orange Is The New Black memorably paid homage to Martha Stewart, and more importantly her jail stint, when the show introduced us to the Stewart-esque character Judy King. While the character is certainly a nod to Martha Stewart and the time spent in jail after being convicted of charges stemming from insider trading, the home décor mogul says she hasn't watched Orange Is The New Black to catch the character based on her. In a recent interview on Chelsea Handler's new Netflix series, Stewart revealed there's a really good reason why she hasn't bothered to tune in and watch:
When you live through something like Orange Is the New Black, the real characters are better. It's not as good as the real thing.
Martha Stewart actually spent a solid five months in prison in 2004-2005 after being charged and convicted on counts of conspiracy, lying to the Feds and obstructing agency proceedings. Along with her jail stint, she underwent two years of probation, including electrical monitoring. These days she's back to being the chairwoman of her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and occasionally making TV appearances on shows like Chelsea.
Honestly, Martha Stewart's opinion on Orange Is The New Black isn't really all that odd. Martha Stewart actually spent time in real prison, where she had to fight to watch the news and stock channels in the mornings and deal with wearing real-life prison garb . That's nothing like Jenji Kohan's world in Orange Is The New Black, which features amusing but often absurd premises like a stinky panty business or a prison break party at a lake.
Although there is a character based on Martha Stewart expected to return for Season 4. The character on the show, Judy King, is is also different from the real-life Stewart in many ways. She's a little less poised than the real Stewart, and shows agitation when she arrives at Litchfield Prison and isn't greeted promptly. She's also incredibly southern, making her more like a mash-up of Stewart and Paula Deen than a knockoff of Martha Stewart.
Besides, as Martha Stewart also noted to Chelsea Handler, she's more into watching the stock tickers on the news than she is the dramas on Netflix and cable.
In prison it was BET television at all times. I had to get up really early to watch the news. So if I wanted to watch the stock market and stuff like that, I had to get up really early and watch it by myself.
Luckily, if you are more interested in Orange Is The New Black's version of Martha Stewart, you won't have too much longer to wait. The long-running series has already been renewed for several seasons, and Season 4 is expected to hit Netflix on Friday, June 17. You can find out what we know about Season 4 here. Or check out what else the subscription streaming service has coming up this summer with our Netflix premiere schedule.
