‘Orange Is The New Black’ Won’t Return For Season 8 But Might Get A Spinoff

“Orange Is The New Black” Season 8 is not making it to the small screens as the seventh installment of Netflix’s comedy-drama web TV series has been announced to be the conclusion. However, much to fans’ delight, there are indeed talks of an “Orange Is The New Black” spinoff, though official details are yet to be released.

Season 5 served to be the start of the end of the show, and this was evident in critics’ responses and the figures of viewership. The fifth season had the prison riot under the spotlight, and although much was expected of it, its fans felt otherwise.

The diminishing number of viewers carried on to “Orange Is The New Black” Season 6, which debuted with over five million people watching it. However, come the rest of the installment, it averaged roughly only 2.56 million viewers, per What's on Netflix. Given its underwhelming viewership, concluding the show at seventh season seemed to be the right call.

On a tangent, the “Orange Is The New Black” spinoff is yet to be set in stone. Reports have it that discussions have taken place, though any form of confirmation remains to be much awaited. An article by the Hollywood Reporter highlights that the chairman of the Lionsgate Television Group, Kevin Beggs, was in talks with “Orange Is The New Black” show creator Jenji Kohan.

The spinoff would allegedly have Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Uzo Aduba and Danielle Brooks back on the small screen. “We're really proud of the long run that Orange Is the New Black had,” expressed Beggs. “We're already in discussions and, when the timing is right, we'll talk further with Jenji about a potential sequel,” he added.

In addition, Tara Herrmann, the show’s executive producer, also shared with THR that they already had some spinoff ideas. Some of these include bringing the lives of either Larry Bloom and Polly Harper or Cal and Carol Chapman into the spotlight. She also mentioned that another possibility would be taking it to Broadway.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with The New York Times, the OINTB show creator expressed that he was prepared for its end. “I’m ready to be out of prison,” said Kohan. “It takes up a lot of psychological space, and it can be oppressive and difficult and depressing. But seven years is a good run, and it was time,” he added.