One of the unique things on Netflix is their high quality original series. One of these is “Orange is the New Black.” From the creator of “Weeds,” Jenji Kohan developed a colorful cast of characters full of strong women with complex backstories.

One of the great things about this series is that it shows the particular women who are given a number instead of a name are more than their crime. Based off a true story, this show’s aim is to not only entertain, but it’s also there to educate its viewers to the injustice that happens behind bars.

The show is based around the story of Piper Chapman, a straight-laced city girl. Piper has a fiancé, a beautiful city home, and everything that she could have wanted in life when her rebellious past catches up with her. Now she has to spend 18 months at Litchfield correctional facility to pay for her crime.

This low security prison is her own personal hell when in all actuality; it’s like summer camp in comparison to higher security prisons. Now instead of Piper, she is simply Chapman. She is surrounded by women who have been hardened by the system and by guards that don’t care that she is high society, only that there is a number on her chest. If that wasn’t enough to make her head spin she is also in the same prison as the person who is the reason she is in there: her ex-girlfriend Alex Vause.

The show doesn’t only focus on Chapman. The cast of side characters have equally as captivating stories of their own, if not more so. For example, Nicky is a lesbian drug addict who has been doing time since her last overdose for being in possession of large quantities of illegal substances. Or there is Red, who had to fall on the sword for the local Russian mafia that threatened them into keeping a body in their freezer.

There are also some men in the show, but the main characters are the ones who abuse their power and make the women fear for their lives. If they look at a guard wrong and they are having a bad day, they could be hauled down to the Solitary Housing Units, SHU for short.

In the SHU they don’t tell them what day it is, they never turn off the lights so the victims lose all sense of time. The food they eat is moldy or has maggots in it. When they shower, they are handcuffed to a wall and have to stand naked while a male guard stands watch over them. It is places like SHU that this show wishes to educate their viewers about.

I would say that this show is a must watch. Its witty humor and realistic characters make it a show that is easy to watch in one sitting.