Orange Is The New Black: 6 Reasons It's Netflix's Best Original Series

As Netflix continues to make more and more original series, from Marvel shows to quirky comedies to starry dramas, it'd be easy to overlook one of the series that helped start it all.

Orange is the New Black debuted back in the summer of 2013, just months of House of Cards, and was an instant success with fans and critics alike, racking up a number of award nominations and wins.

With so many other series now competing with it though, it could have become the forgotten child. With subscribers going crazy for Daredevil and Stranger Things, and the likes of Master of None becoming the service's new critical darling, the hype waned for Orange is the New Black.

Thankfully, however, the quality never did. Indeed, the series goes from strength-to-strength and, after three fantastic seasons, the fourth was its harshest, most heartbreaking, and yes, best one yet. Now Season 5 is here, going even darker still, and attempting to raise the bar once again.

The show has always been brilliant, but that's never been more obvious than it is right now, and no other show on Netflix can really compete: they each might offer either humour, high stakes, dark drama, or complex characters, but you get all of that and more with OITNB, and here's a breakdown of why it deserves to be called the best of Netflix's many great original series.

Contains spoilers for Seasons 1-4, but not Season 5.

Jennifer Euston probably isn't a name you've heard a lot, but much of Orange is the New Black's success can be traced back to her work. Euston is the casting director for the series, meaning she is chiefly responsible for giving us one of the most talented and diverse casts you're likely to see not just on Netflix, but anywhere across TV and film.

Although Taylor Schilling was ostensibly the lead in the early days, it quickly became apparent that the strength was in numbers, and the show has continued to embrace its ensemble nature more each season. Whether it's the white inmates, the black inmates, the Latinas, there is some serious talent across the board. Uzo Aduba has deservedly won two Emmys for her work as Crazy Eyes, but in truth so many are deserving of recognition, from Natasha Lyonne's hilarious but tragic Nikki, Kate Mulgrew's fierce Red, Danielle Brook's wonderful Taystee, Laverne Cox's Sophia, or Elizabeth Rodriguez's Aleida. And that's just a handful of many, many names that are worth mentioning; I could literally go on and on and on.

These aren't big name stars, in the way, say, House of Cards has Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, but that works in OITNB's favour. There's no one that dominates everything, instead they're all working together, and complement each other perfectly, forging wonderful chemistry and relationships. The fact that they're mostly women, and of all races, is another reason they should be celebrated (and still something that's all-too-rare to see), but it's that plus their undoubted talent that really elevates them above the competition.