Last season of Orange Is the New Black ended on perhaps the most devastating note it could. Poussey (Samira Wiley) was dead, and her death was not going to be avenged, or even honored. So a riot ensued. Season five takes place over the course of three days, but might not be as upsetting as the last.
"I don't know about devastating, but I would say for sure rocky," Adrienne C. Moore said.
"Yeah, it's intense," Danielle Brooks said in an interview before the season premiered.
While the actors had a break in between seasons, the characters have not. The new season picks up right where the last one left off. However, it wasn't hard for Brooks and Moore to get into the mindset of mourning again, they said, citing the police shooting death of Philando Castile.
"No, I think because of the climate of our country it was not hard at all. We lost Philando Castile in July, so I think it was very potent because we went back to work in July," Brooks said. "It was very potent in the air. I think we were just riding the wave of what we were actually feeling as a country."
Orange Is the New Black season five picks up right where the fourth season ended. The prison is in shambles, and the prisoners are rioting.
After season four, Brooks promised fans would be seeing a very different Taystee.
"It's been quite a journey for her, even from season one ‘til now. Being somebody who was the light and the joy of the prison, who liked being there because she did have a forever family, and now losing both Vee and Poussey, and then the death of Poussey having no justice, she's ready for war," she said. "You're going to get a very different Taystee than the Taystee you met in the shower, season one, episode one, talking about TV titties. It's definitely going to be a different Taystee from here on out."
All episodes of the fifth season are now streaming on Netflix. The show has been renewed through season seven.