Orange Is the New Black may have just come to an end a few months ago, but series star Laura Prepon isn’t ready to completely walk away from the Netflix staple. After portraying inmate and Piper Chapman’s love interest Alex Vause for seven seasons, Prepon opened up exclusively to PopCulture.com about her thoughts on the much-wanted and teased Orange Is the New Black sequel.
“I mean, these are tough questions, because again, I love Alex and I love directing that show,” she said. “I mean, the other thing too, is that is still so current for me because it just ended like months ago, so that is a different situation…If the girls all wanted to do something, I don’t know. It would definitely be a discussion, for sure. But it” also because it hasn’t even been a year yet, so it’s still kind of fresh on me. So I don’t know. It would definitely be a discussion, for sure. I love that show. I love directing it. I love playing Alex, and I miss her. For seven years I got to step in her shoes, and I loved it.”
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Prepon, though, isn’t necessarily looking to step back into the orange jumpsuit of Alex. After taking a turn behind the camera in the series’ seventh and final season, the actress said she’d be eager to return to direct an episode of the potential sequel: “Absolutely, direct,” she exclaimed.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that she hasn’t given a thought or two as to where Piper and Alex would currently stand. When fans last saw them, Piper, following an emotional conversation with her ex-fiancé Larry, had come to the realization that no matter what, she will continue to choose Alex. That realization led her to follow Alex to Columbus, Ohio following her transfer to a new prison facility, where Prepon hopes they would learn from the mistakes of their past and move forward with their relationship.
“I mean, look, Alex and Piper’s relationship is a very complicated one,” she said. “So you would hope that they have learned from their years of being on and off and what they’ve gone through. I would hope they could just kind of keep it together, but they are a very tumultuous relationship. So you would just hope that they’ve learned from their mistakes.”
Based on Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison and originally debuting to critical acclaim in 2013, the Jenji Kohan-created series, which boasts 20 Emmy nominations and four wins, released its seventh and final season back in July. Just months earlier, it had been teased that Lionsgate TV Group was considering a sequel.
“We’re really proud of the long run that Orange Is the New Black had,” Lionsgate TV Group chairman Kevin Beggs told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Although little more information has been made available since that first statement and nothing seems to be immediately in the works, fans haven’t stopped rallying for it, and it has even drawn the support of OITNB stars.
Speaking to PopCulture.com just ahead of the Season 7 premiere, Beth Dover, who portrayed Linda Ferguson, said “it really would be great to see” a sequel series. Saying that she’d hope the sequel would focus on the original characters and show fans “where people are 10 years from now, or five years from now,” she explained that to the best of her knowledge, “I just don’t know if they’re doing it or not.”
With nothing currently set in stone, Prepon still has plenty of connections to her Orange Is the New Black family. Kohan acts as part of the actress’ “Mom Squad” in her recently released book, You and I, as Mothers: A Raw and Honest Guide to Motherhood. Part memoir, part handbook, You and I, as Mothers is filled with intimate stories, never-before-shared anecdotes, practical tips for moms of any age and stage of motherhood, and more.
All seven seasons of Orange Is the New Black are available for streaming on Netflix. You and I, as Mothers: A Raw and Honest Guide to Motherhood is currently available for purchase.
