Netflix has released images from Season 4 of Orange is The New Black, which shed some light on what to expect from the new season. Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) is seen alive and well after the third season left her character’s fate up in the air.
The most dramatic image, however, features Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) gagged with her hand forcibly extended as an audience of angry-looking inmates look on.
Season 3 set the scene for the arrival of Judy King (Blair Brown) to Litchfield. One of the images released by Netflix shows King smiling and standing by her fan Poussey (Samira Wiley). Brown’s character is rumored to be similar to Martha Stewart, but the actress offers a different take.
"I think a lot of people think, 'Oh, she cooks, so she's like Martha Stewart.' 'Oh, she Southern. She's like Paula Deen.' She's actually Judy King, a creation of Jenji [Kohan] and the writers," Brown told TVGuide. "She's a very interesting character, constantly surprising to me. Sometimes I get a script and I'm like 'I'm going to say that?'"
As for her character, King will have a cheery disposition and be morally ambiguous.
"She's slightly appalling and very good, and very cheerful, and probably fairly amoral," said Brown. "And it's interesting to watch because she's so other than anybody else in prison. And of course, Judy's greatest ally when she comes in is Poussey Washington."
The images also seem to show Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox)still locked up in SHU after her relationship with Gloria (Selenis Leyva) spirals. As for a reconciliation between the two characters, fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
“I can’t imagine,” Cox told TVGuide. “As a viewer watching, seeing how much remorse Gloria has, I always like to believe there's a potential for forgiveness, but this is pretty bad. This is really, really bad.”
As difficult as this story arc is, Cox said that the situation is a very real problem that trans women face.
"The reasons of why Sophia ended up in solitary, the violence that she experienced, that violence is a reality for far too many people who are incarcerated, particularly trans women who are far too often incarcerated in men's prisons," Cox said.
Taystee (Danielle Brooks) can be seen being stern with Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren (Uzo Aduba) while Cindy “Black Cindy” Hayes (Adrienne C. Moore) watches on. Brooks’ character will be taking on a maternal role at Litchfield, according to an interview with Vogue.
"We left off with Taystee being the mom, taking over this role that Vee was in," said Brooks. "We’re going to see how she deals with that."
Prison overcrowding will be a theme of Season 4, as was hinted in Season 3 when staffers added four beds to each living space instead of the usual two.
"This season really drops in a totally different way," said Brooks to Vogue. "The prison is becoming overpopulated. All the new inmates really add more tension, and believe me, it is tense."
The new season of Orange is The New Black debuts on Netflix on June 17.
