Hit TV comedy-drama "Orange Is the New Black," created by Jenji Kohan, will return to Netflix for its third season next year. Filming is underway, and new cast members have been announced. Here's a lowdown of what we know so far.
Two actors have been confirmed to join the cast in Season 3: Academy-Award and Golden-Globe winner Mary Steenburgen will play the mother of corrections officer George Mendez (Pablo Schreiber). Blair Brown of Fox's "Fringe" is also set to play a part, but her role has not yet been revealed.
Schreiber--or "Pornstache," the corrections officer we all love to hate--will not be back for Season 3; he will be joining the HBO series "The Brink," a comedy starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins.
Schreiber explained that his decision to leave the show was his own, telling the New York Post: "Yeah, I was never a series regular on 'Orange Is The New Black.' I was always a guest star. The role that I have on 'The Brink' is a starring role, and it's a no brainer," he says. "Absolutely, I chose to jump on board with that show. It was a better move for me as an actor."
A lot of the show's stars are using social media to give updates on the filming of Season 3. Check out some selfies and set photos in this BuzzFeed article that came out in late June.
Meanwhile, the real Piper Chapman--Piper Kerman, author of "Orange is the New Black," the book to which the series is based--did a recent interview with SFGate.
When asked about the authenticity of the women's prison as portrayed in the series, Kerman said: "I'm a technical consultant on the show, so I read the scripts and give feedback on realism. Jenji (Kohan) and her team have done an incredible job. They ask me a lot about how the federal system works. Once they wanted to know about bank robbery, but I don't know anything about that, but I could put them in touch with someone who does."
Kerman also revealed her favorite scene from Season 2: "The first episode of the second season, when Piper sees Alex again is really hard for me to watch. I got sent to Chicago to testify the last month of my sentence, and I saw my ex again. I remember thinking, "You can't make this s- up!"
The third season of "Orange is the New Black" will air in 2015.
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