Lock yourself in for a pair of potent prison dramas
Women's prison dramas are back in fashion
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Seven years after ITV's Bad Girls came to a suitably over-the-top end, women's prison dramas are back in fashion.
In addition to Prisoners' Wives, the BBC's compelling take on life for those left on the outside, this year sees the arrival of two shows focusing on the women inside: the caustic and clever Orange Is the New Black, and the dark-hued Australian drama Wentworth, a re-imagining of the camp women's prison classic Prisoner Cell Block H.
The latter has been hailed by the Sydney Morning Herald as “a triumph… a hard-edged, cold-eyed descent into a brutal world filled with brutal women”, while Orange Is the New Black, which draws inspiration from Piper Kerman's bestselling jail memoir, has received superlative reviews in the US. “I think the appeal of prison dramas is that this is a place where diverse groups of people are forced to interact,” says Jenji Kohan, Orange Is the New Black's creator. 'Orange Is the New Black' is available on Netflix; 'Wentworth' comes to Channel 5 later this year
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments