Orange is the New Black

:

Season 5
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 11, 2013
Season #: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 183 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 109 out of 183
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 183
  3. Negative: 35 out of 183
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User Reviews

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  1. Rtheom
    Jun 22, 2017
    5
    I think the writers needed to rewatch their own show between seasons. Some of the characters have had a complete personality flip in what is supposed to be only a few days. The idea of a riot was interesting, but went into the realms of just silly really quickly.

    This is not the same show we started with.
  2. signe
    Jul 24, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In season 5 all hell breaks loose and the focus is on two of my least favorite characters - the 2 white trash girls with bad teeth. They are the most irritating of characters and as I was watching them wreak havoc, I'm thinking I wonder what Suzanne (crazy eyes) is doing right now? what is black cindy up to? what about piper and her girlfriend? the guard talent show almost made me leave for good but I stuck it out till the end.
    All other seasons I binged watched in one sitting. This season I just watched a few at a time - it wasn't that compelling. I want more character studies - less violence.    … Expand
  3. Winterflower
    Oct 16, 2017
    4
    The season takes place over the course of three days, that's very hard to pull off, and they didn't. If I had to describe this thing in 1 word, I'm having a had time between "boring", "pointless", "filler", or "obnoxious".
  4. cstrang
    Jun 11, 2017
    5
    Over-acted, preachy melodrama afoot in season 5. Despite having a runtime of 13 hours, not a lot actually happens, which feels partially due to the now-bloated cast of characters and partially due to the decision to have the season take place over 3 days. The comedy this time around falls flat, the storylines are messy and rehashed, and the social commentary is along the lines of "whiteOver-acted, preachy melodrama afoot in season 5. Despite having a runtime of 13 hours, not a lot actually happens, which feels partially due to the now-bloated cast of characters and partially due to the decision to have the season take place over 3 days. The comedy this time around falls flat, the storylines are messy and rehashed, and the social commentary is along the lines of "white people are the worst, lol".… Expand
  5. kouvpan
    Jun 10, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Poor writing-Bad dialogues-Apathetic characters.I think it's probably the worst season so far because they decided to make an almost real time thing.The fact that there are so many people without developing on them and the feeling that you watch an endless same movie,makes a messy result and many times quite boring.In my opinion the facts could take place in 2-3 episodes and then get back to normal with the officers,the cliques,the topdogs,the new inmates etc.
    However there are some funny moments and sometimes the appropriate drama.In conclusion i'd say im disappointed by the result,i expected much more after the very good Season 4.It seemed like an effort to make something unique..Some might like it,dunno..    … Expand
  6. wnvinson1972
    Jun 10, 2017
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Watched the first episode of Season 5 and was very much ambivalent about the direction this whole thing is taking. I suppose what bothers me the most is that having shot a guard in the leg - clearly in an artery (squirting blood for dramatic effect) which presumably would bring death within several minutes, they go through this whole charade of then beating him up, wheeling him around in a laundry basket, and then miraculously having him survive. Why couldn't the writers and the showrunner have the courage to either let him bleed out from an arterial "nick" and subsequently face the consequences, or make it a much less dramatic wounding? While an entire riot is going on, characters in turn stop to toss off unfunny one liners, presumably for humorous effect. It all left me feeling very undecided on whether or not I would continue watching the show. A more satisfying outcome, in my opinion, would have been for the wounded guard to have died within minutes, the SWAT team to arrive and "control the situation, with the requisite cleaning out of a number of characters who have long since become nothing but increasingly poor imitations of themselves. I think ONB is about to succumb to the same disease that afflicted The Wire and The Soprano's after Season 3, Dexter's final season, and the current season of Fargo - it's gotten old and shopworn and now constantly seeks to one up itself along a declining slope with diminishing returns.… Expand
  7. DarthSaix15
    Jun 11, 2017
    6
    What would OITNB be without its drama and comedy? Season 5 shows that exactly; It lost its comedy features and stretched a 3 day event over a whole season. There was a major lack of character development after a heart wrenching season four. The story was too short to be expanded among 13 episodes. I hope if they decide on season 6 they go back to the roots of the show on what made itWhat would OITNB be without its drama and comedy? Season 5 shows that exactly; It lost its comedy features and stretched a 3 day event over a whole season. There was a major lack of character development after a heart wrenching season four. The story was too short to be expanded among 13 episodes. I hope if they decide on season 6 they go back to the roots of the show on what made it comical and dramatic.… Expand
  8. pixelcraftables
    Jun 10, 2017
    6
    A season that is entertaining but fumbles to have a real sense of purpose to the series as a whole, instead seemingly not going anywhere plot wise throughout
  9. drlowdon
    Jan 3, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Orange is the New Black deserves credit for following through on the events of the season four finale, rather than pressing the reset button, but the balance between comedy and drama that the show has (mostly) successfully struck up to this point feels rather jarring here.

    That's not to say that there weren't still scenes that had an emotional impact but, every time the show started to build tension or tried to up the stakes it was all undercut by the comedy elements and I was never quite sure how seriously I was supposed to be taking the events that unfolded.    … Expand
  10. Fonke
    Feb 24, 2018
    5
    Season 5 is completly different to all other seasons. I didn't really enjoy watching it, it's gotten stale and boring, the humor is completly gone. Deffinetly not a good ending to the show.
  11. Vitor007
    Sep 2, 2018
    5
    Perhaps "Orange Is The New Black" has lost public and credibility, but is not unloved. Changed but not to a side 100% attractive
  12. All_ButTrU4
    Jan 3, 2022
    6
    The riots continue to conflicting results. On one hand it's correctional officer "talent show" is a comedic gem and the power shift into chaos is a nail biting experience . But majority of it loses it's steam and feels monotonous in the backdrop of the riots which go on for way too long.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed TV Season of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    Jun 16, 2017
    63
    Viewers are likely to be just as polarized by the riot, which undermines the humanity of some of Litchfield’s inmates by showing them embracing violent vengeance. Like it or hate it, though, this season of the award-winning show manages to feel more relevant than ever.
    Read full review
  2. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Emily VanDerWerff
    Jun 12, 2017
    70
    This season of Orange gets better and better the longer it goes (though, weirdly, the slasher homage is dropped into the middle of the otherwise very good back half of the season), and the final three episodes go from strength to strength. ... There are a lot of plot holes and missteps along the way. But that doesn’t negate the power of the closing passages of the season.
    Read full review
  3. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Jun 9, 2017
    50
    Even the best performances and moments suffer from the season’s lack of focus, inability to shift tonal gears smoothly, and Netflix bloat (the siege might’ve worked better as a more compact arc rather than a 13-episode extravaganza). Points for audacity notwithstanding--this is another instance of an ambitious and unusual series writing conceptual checks that its storytelling prowess can’t cash.
    Read full review
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