Taryn Manning Weighs In On New Season Of ‘Orange Is The New Black’

The highly-anticipated fifth season of Orange is the New Black is finally out on Netflix, and fans are beside themselves with all of the crazy moments that were scattered through the 13 episodes.

Taryn Manning, who plays Tiffany ‘Pennsatucky’ Doggett on the series, talked with CBS News about the new season, and her character’s interesting new turn.

This season took place around a three-day prison riot, so it was tonally different from anything fans had seen in the past. According to Manning, it was a crazy set of episodes to produce.

“This was probably one of the more challenging ones because it was condensed into the three days, so we didn’t always work as much, or we worked a lot. And honestly even we were kind of like, “What’s going on?” and that was the point. It was AWOL. It was a little more of a hectic season behind the scenes with hair and makeup and all that but I think it actually turned out really well. It always does. This show is so cool and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

The tone of this season wasn’t the only thing fans weren’t used to. After starting off as a villain in the series, Pennsatucky has enjoyed a pretty positive turn. Some would go as far as to say she’s one of the good gals of the series.

More OITNB: 5 Biggest Moments Of This Season

According to Manning, that change was the right call for the show, but she missed getting to play the antagonist.

“I had a really good time with that at first. Upon reading the script when it came to me way in the beginning, I was very nervous about it because she was so bad. It’s kind of fun to have an excuse to be such a jerk and for acting purposes only. Not to say I’m perfect in real life, but it was a lot of fun to have an alter ego.

“That being said, I love the arc they’ve written for me. As an actor, there’s nothing more fun than getting to explore your character and all of our layers that we have as human beings and characters, but I feel like she’s getting frustrated and I think she feels really defeated because I think her choice to be kind — it just happened in a genuine sort of way and I feel now she feels really hurt. Hurt people hurt. She’s been hurt and however she’s treated, that’s how she reacts. If she’s treated like crap, she doesn’t react well, so I think she’s just really human.”

Up Next: Netflix Renews Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

How do you think the newest season of Orange is the New Black stacks up against the others? Let us know by voting in the poll below!

Photo Credit: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris