‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 5: Cast Update, Premiere Date, Things To Expect

Orange Is The New Black Season 5 is coming next year after a sinister fourth season that left many questions unanswered.

Due to the Netflix series’ success and early renewal, you can likely expect a premiere date of June 2017. The official release date is yet to be released; previous release dates have been in June.

While fans are still mourning Poussey, many characters’ fate were left in the air after the explosive finale cliffhanger.

Cast members have given some hints about which direction their character is going in Orange Is The New Black Season 5.

Daya was last seen picking up a gun and holding correctional officer Humphreys hostage. Her mother has gotten released from prison, and Daya has proven to be easily influenced by bad company. Will she let peer pressure guide her decision or think about her child?

Actress Dasha Polanco, who plays Daya on OITNB, thinks that her character is unpredictable due to postpartum depression. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Daya said the following:

“I could see her pulling the trigger. Daya’s definitely experiencing some postpartum depression. She might pull back and think about being a mother and not wanting to miss the opportunity of being with her child. But a woman going through postpartum — at that point, they’re very fragile and very sensitive.”

Thomas Humphries is a sociopath, and no other CO is more deserving of being shot but the consequences will ruin any hope of Daya becoming a mother.

Orange Is The New Black Season 5 will give us a much more sinister Taystee, who seems to be the most affected by Poussey’s death. They were best friends, and Danielle Brooks suggests that her character is looking for revenge. Brooks told THR:

“It’s war. Taystee has nothing to lose; she’s lost everything that she cared so deeply about. It’s time to fight. I think that’s where we will see Taystee go.”

As awful as Piscatella was in the fourth season, a lot of the misconduct by guards went on without his permission, and it is possible that we will see the CO that everyone hates to love next season. We last saw Piscatella being sent home by Caputo due to the commotion after Poussey’s death.

Clearly, his method of running the prison isn’t working, so will Piscatella adapt to the prison or leave? It is unlikely that a profit hungry organization will get rid of Piscatella so we may not see the last of him.

Speaking of COs, George “Pornstache” Mendez, Bayley, and John Bennet all have the potential to return to the cast in Orange Is The New Black Season 5.

Mental health was one of the recurring themes in OITNB, and Lolly may return. We last saw Healy fail in keeping Lolly out of the psychiatric ward. Actress Lori Petty gave fans some hope that Lolly will return in Orange Is The New Black Season 5:

“I can’t say for sure, but I absolutely think we will [see Lolly again]. They are just now filming episode one [of season five] and you know how we ended season four. They have a lot to deal with right now!… I just assumed they’d go to psych, like they go to the SHU. When I saw the [psych] set, that’s what I thought.”

Healy was also on the verge of suicide in the fourth season, and we expect him to return next season. However, Healy may be unable to cope, and OITNB may be heading into another dark season… many fans hope Healy comes through.

Ruby Rose made an appearance in the fourth season, and her character Stella could make it out of max in Orange Is The New Black Season 5.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]