Piper Chapman may be the coolest character on Netflix.
She can make you laugh, she can make you cry; she can even make you think about the mistakes you’ve made early in life and how they can affect you moving forward. “Orange is the New Black” is the type of drama that has a little something for everyone, a multifaceted story, a sexy and memorable cast and enough laughs to even out the surreal moments of tension.
“Shawshank Redemption” meets sitcom comedy with elements of “Lost,†it’s another feather in the cap of what’s quickly becoming a nice line of successful Netflix originals.
Taylor Schilling’s performance in the series is nothing short of stellar. As we see Piper get accustomed to prison life, we see her grow in ways she never expected. Although the story is not quite “Oz,†it’s gritty enough to make you cringe at times. We’re also filled in on her story on how things came to be. Real, but often witty and silly, the more emotional moments of the show have a depth to them, while the cutesy comedy serves as a perfect deflection.
The supporting cast is also chock full of faces you’ll remember. From Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager) and Laura Prepon (That 70s Show) to Jason Biggs (American Pie), there’s also a character for everyone. While Schilling is often front and center in the show’s goings on, we see glimpses of each character and slowly learn their backstory. This enables the rest of the cast’s stories to matter enough for the audience to care when it’s their time to tell a story or two. As a result, the show’s plot never wavers. The action and drama is nonstop, but its pace is friendly-paced. It’s the type of show you won’t mind spending hours at a time with, especially with a blanket, a cuddly couch and some ice cream.
Between the talented cast, expert storytelling and comfy pacing “Orange is the New Black†belongs at the top of your Netflix Instant Queue.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
Piper Chapman may be the coolest character on Netflix.
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