The Upcoming Season Of ‘Orange Is The New Black’ Will Be Its Last

In season six, Netflix’s popular prison drama Orange is the New Black returned to its roots following a tumultuous fifth season that bucked the show’s original formula for a healthy dose of experimentation. What creator Jenji Kohan decides to do in season seven remains a mystery, but following Tuesday’s late announcement on Twitter, one thing is clear: 2019’s installment of OITNB will be its last.

According to a short Twitter video featuring the show’s cast, the upcoming seventh season of OITNB will also be its final one. Many of the series’ stars — including Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Dascha Polanco, Danielle Brooks, Selenis Leyva, Taryn Manning, Yael Stone, Jackie Cruz and Adrienne C. Moore — contributed to the video. And judging by the fact that the various clips were shot on location for season six, it seems the cast (and crew) have known this would be the end for some time.

Then again, when Netflix renewed OITNB for three more seasons following its fourth entry in 2016, this shouldn’t be all that surprising. As Kohan said in a statement at the time, three additional seasons would be “plenty of time to do some interesting things.” She then added, “In some cultures, ‘May you lead an interesting life,’ is a curse, but I don’t live in those cultures… Three more years!”