While hit television show Orange is the New Black is set to come to an end in 2019, the story might not be entirely over, per the Hollywood Reporter . While the upcoming seventh season is supposed to be its last, the showrunners aren’t opposed to picking up the story in a new series. According to Lionsgate TV Group chairman Kevin Beggs, however, a lot of the decisions will come down to the show’s creator Jenji Kohan.
“We’re really proud of the long run that Orange Is the New Black had,” Beggs told reporters on Thursday, November 8. “It remains one of Netflix’s most-watched shows. We’re ending on a high note. Keep in mind we own that series and will be distributing it for years to come. We’re already in discussions and, when the timing is right, we’ll talk further with Jenji about a potential sequel.”
The idea of a spinoff isn’t a new one, as executive producer Tara Herrmann stated that the showrunners had been discussing plans after the release of Season 6. Some of the spinoff ideas bouncing around in the writer’s room are a possible Broadway production, or a series following minor characters like Larry Bloom and Polly Harper. Herrmann did say, however, that they wouldn’t take these ideas seriously until the initial show is officially complete.
“We want people to pay attention to the show we’re making, not a musical number with Piper and Alex,” she said. “But that could happen in the future — who knows!”
The ensemble cast of Orange is the New Black confirmed that Season 7 would be their last. https://t.co/tyNAqp7zuj
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) October 17, 2018
The show takes place in a women’s prison and stars an ensemble cast with multiple storylines. As TV Line points out, it’s not likely we’ll see most of the inmates freed by the series finale. It’s entirely possible to continue the storylines of many different inmates who remain in prison even after the main character’s stories come to a close. The Emmy-winning Netflix show garnered tons of success and critical acclaim, so it wouldn’t be a completely ridiculous idea to keep the ball rolling and continue to see even more success.
Not to mention, sequels and spinoffs have been high in demand and come with built-in audiences, almost ensuring immediate success. HBO’s Game of Thrones , for instance, is also coming to an end, but already multiple spinoff series are already in the works. Sources close to Lionsgate are emphasizing, however, that the decision to continue Orange is the New Black is still being mulled over and nothing is set in stone quite yet. While the possibility of a sequel is still up in the air, fans of the hit show are already excited to see what happens next to the characters they’ve grown to love.