It’s time to say goodbye to the gang at Litchfield Penitentiary after Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan told The Hollywood Reporter she is pulling the plug on the show . The seventh and final season will run on Netflix in 2019.
“After seven seasons, it’s time to be released from prison. I will miss all the badass ladies of Litchfield and the incredible crew we’ve worked with. My heart is orange but fade to black,” Kohan revealed in a statement on Wednesday.
The decision to end Orange is the New Black doesn’t come as a surprise. After a dramatic finale of season six where Taylor Schilling’s character, Piper Chapman, was released early, the show could have easily ended by wrapping up six years of her serving her prison term behind bars.
However, the seventh season may see Piper outside of the prison as she adjusts to life outside of Litchfield.
Last year, Kohan told The New York Times that she was contemplating ending the series after the seventh season, adding that she could continue the show as new characters could be added to keep the show fresh. By all accounts, it sounds like the decision to end Orange is the New Black comes from the show’s creator, not Netflix. In other words, ratings may have nothing to do with the decision to end the show.
“I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I’m leaning toward ending it after seven,” she said, adding, “although the nature of the show is one that can go on and on because you can bring in new people.”
In the interview with the New York Times, Kohan revealed that she did have an idea of how the show would end but wouldn’t provide any details.
Warning: This may make you cry. The Final Season, 2019. #OITNB pic.twitter.com/bUp2yY0aoK
— Orange Is the New Black (@OITNB) October 17, 2018
After the news broke yesterday, the stars of Orange is the New Black went on social media and expressed their gratitude. They were all sad to say goodbye, but it was a decision that many of them saw coming.
“As an actor getting ready to say goodbye to a role that I’ve lived with for six years, it’s very poignant. It’s a very kind of surreal time. It’s as surreal as it was when the thing came out of the gate and was so powerful those first few seasons. It’s equally as surreal now to be ending it all,” Schilling has previously told The Hollywood Reporter about leaving the show after the seventh season.
But it sounds like the decision to end the show has received nothing but support from Netflix. After the decision was made public yesterday, Cindy Holland from Netflix revealed that the show was going out on a high. In addition, she thanked Kohan for sharing her groundbreaking vision with the streaming service.
The final season of Orange is the New Black is expected to premiere in 2019 on Netflix.