Culture

Orange is the New Black season 5: Reviews, recaps, cast, trailers, streaming guide and more

Jun 12 2017
Written by Mayer Nissim

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

Orange is the New Black exploded back on to our screens this month when season 5 launched on Netflix on June 9, and we’ve been following every riotous moment.

Read through our catch-up preview to get in the mood for season 5 and check out our top eight episodes of Orange is the New Black seasons 1 to 4.

You can also argue with ranking of ALL the relationships in the show.

Now you’re ready to dive into all the PinkNews coverage of the most full-on and bingeworthy season of OITNB yet.

Orange is the New Black season 5 streaming guide

As you’ll no doubt know by now, Orange is the New Back isn’t on network or cable TV. And forget about Amazon Prime or Now TV.

orange is the new black on Netflix

Unless you’re one of the future Litchfield inmates who illegally streamed the show when it leaked (NB: If you want broadcasters to make good telly in the future you probably shouldn’t), you’ll have to be a Netflix subscriber to get your eyeballs on the goings on at Litchfield Penitentiary.

That means shelling out £5.99/$8 a month (or £7.49/$10 for two screens and HD and £8.99/$12 four-screen for Ultra HD). Then you can watch all 13 episodes of Orange is the New Black season 5 in one massive binge, should you wish.

Orange is the New Black season 5 trailers

Between the cliffhanger end of Orange is the New Black season 4 and the start of the new run, Netflix got us excited with a first-look video teaser and full-length trailer to whet our appetite for what was about to come.

Watch both below for a quick taste of what’s to come.

Orange is the New Black season 5 episode titles, reviews and recaps

Season 5, Episode 1: Riot FOMO
This is how the Litchfield Penitentiary Riot of 2017 starts – not with one gunshot, but two.

The season begins as promised, with the guards overthrown and chaos reigning as every inmate must decide for themselves how to react.

Season 5, Episode 2: F***, Marry, Frieda
Following Orange is the New Black’s tense premiere episode, F***, Marry, Frieda kicks off with a welcome respite, flashing back to Frieda as a young Nature Scout, and setting up her role to come.

“Do you know the Nature Scout motto? Do you know what it means?” Frieda asks a scared compatriot.

Season 5, Episode 3: Pissters!
Orange is the New Black has a variable track record when it comes to weaving characters’ backstories in with the episode’s storyline, but Pissters! does it better than most.

Sorority leader Megan tells her sisters: “I don’t care how cold it is outside – no hideous puffy coats, no pants, and no flat-ass f***ing hair.

The Litchfield staff are still in their underwear, which means the riot is ongoing in ‘Litchfield’s Got Talent’.

And after a whole two episodes of wondering where the gun’s at, episode 4 finally reveals it’s been safely in Gloria’s hands.

Season 5, Episode 5: Sing It, White Effie
Season 5, Episode 6: Flaming Hot Cheetos, Literally
Season 5, Episode 7: Full Bush, Half Snickers
Season 5, Episode 8: Tied to the Tracks
Season 5, Episode 9: The Tightening
Season 5, Episode 10: The Reverse Midas Touch
Season 5, Episode 11: Breaking the Fiberboard Ceiling
Season 5, Episode 12: Tattoo You
Season 5, Episode 13: Storm-y Weather

Orange is the New Black season 5 cast

Much of the classic cast is back, and with its nifty flashback structure, even being six feet under can’t stop the odd return.

First you should check out our definitive ranking of the top 10 characters of season 5, which (spoiler) is a Piper Chapman-free zone

netflix's orange is the new black

Here’s a rundown of the main and recurring characters in season 5 and the actors who play them

The Inmates
Piper Chapman – Taylor Schilling
Galina “Red” Reznikov – Kate Mulgrew
Alex Vause – Laura Prepon
Nicky Nichols – Natasha Lyonne
Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren – Uzo Aduba
Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson – Danielle Brooks
Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales – Jackie Cruz
Carrie “Big Boo” Black – Lea DeLaria
Gloria Mendoza – Selenis Leyva
Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett – Taryn Manning
Cindy “Black Cindy” Hayes – Adrienne C. Moore
Maria Ruiz – Jessica Pimentel
Dayanara Diaz – Dascha Polanco/Dasany Kristal Gonzalez
Aleida Diaz – Elizabeth Rodriguez
Lorna Morello – Yael Stone
Sophia Burset – Laverne Cox
Norma Romano – Annie Golden
Blanca Flores – Laura Gómez
Gina Murphy – Abigail Savage
Maritza Ramos – Diane Guerrero
Brook Soso – Kimiko Glenn
Yoga Jones – Constance Shulman
Judy King – Blair Brown
Poussey Washington – Samira Wiley
Janae Watson – Vicky Jeudy
Frieda Berlin – Dale Soules
Leanne Taylor – Emma Myles
Anita DeMarco – Lin Tucci
Angie Rice – Julie Lake as
Stephanie Hapakuka – Jolene Purdy
Weeping Woman – Tamara Torres
Ouija Aziza – Rosal Colón
Brandy Epps – Asia Kate Dillon
Alison Abdullah – Amanda Stephen
Alana Dwight – Shannon Esper
“Skinhead” Helen Van Maele – Francessa Curran
Reema Pell – Mugga
Ramona “Pidge” Contrares – Miriam Morales
“Zirconia” Cabrera – Daniella De Jesus

The COs and MCC
Joe Caputo – Nick Sandow
Linda Ferguson – Beth Dover
CO Lee Dixon – Mike Houston
CO Desi Piscatella – Brad William Henke
CO Joel Luschek – Matt Peters
CO Charlie Coates – James McMenamin
CO Baxter Bayley – Alan Aisenberg
CO B. Stratman – Evan Hall
CO Artesian McCullough – Emily Tarver
CO Felix Rikerson – Jimmy Gary. Jr

The Rest
Natalie Figueroa – Alysia Reiner
George Mendez – Pablo Schreiber
Delia Powell – Mary Steenburgen
Larry Bloom – Jason Biggs
Wanda Bell – Catherine Curtin
Scott O’Neill – Joel Marsh Garland
Carol Chapman – Deborah Rush
James P. Washington – Thaddeus Daniels
Monica Hayes – Donshea Hopkins
Lillian Hayes – Natalie Carter

And Orange is the New Black season 5 is the very first season of the show to feature neither prison counsellor Sam Healy (Michael J Harney) nor Jane Ingalls (Beth Fowler).