Top 10 Shows to Watch If You Liked Orange Is the New Black

If you like “Orange Is the New Black,” then you should check out Jenji Kohan’s previous show, “Weeds.” Like “Orange,” “Weeds” deftly blends comedy with violence and heated drama, and it is glorious to watch. It follows Nancy Botwin, a suburban mother from Los Angeles who starts distributing marijuana. It’s kind of like “Breaking Bad” before “Breaking Bad” was a thing! Mary-Louise Parker turns in a stunning and Golden Globe-winning performance as Nancy, and Jenji Kohan imbues the show with her trademark wit. The only thing holding “Weeds” back is a relatively weak second half, as critical opinion tends to dip in the later seasons. That said, the good seasons are REALLY good seasons!

If you’re craving more Natasha Lyonne, then “Russian Doll” is for you. Luckily, it’s also on Netflix! Lyonne is one of the main creative forces behind “Russian Doll,” serving as co-creator, co-executive producer, writer, and director. She also stars as Nadia, a troubled woman who gets stuck in a time loop and begins reliving her 36thbirthday over and over again. It’s a brilliant and extremely well-written show reminiscent of “Groundhog Day,” but it’s also a very personal story for Lyonne, who considers it her autobiography. You know, minus all the time loop stuff. The show somehow manages to blend breathless comedy with elements of horror, science fiction, and personal, introspective drama. Natasha Lyonne is here to stay, people!

“GLOW” is another female-centric comedy-drama found on Netflix, and it is absolutely terrific. Jenji Kohan serves as an executive producer on the show, which tells a fictionalized account of the real Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling promotion. It stars Alison Brie as Ruth Wilder, a struggling actress who begins wrestling to boost her name. However, much like Piper Chapman, she is just one part of a wide ensemble cast, as the real-life GLOW featured many struggling artists who used the promotion as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Each actor brings their character to life with humor, vivid style and surprising complexity, and the ensemble is arguably the best on television since, well, since “Orange Is the New Black!”

“Shameless” does not make for easy, casual viewing, let us tell you that. It concerns Frank Gallagher, a belligerent, unambitious drunk whose alcoholism negatively affects both his life and the lives of his six children. The producers have stated that they wished to make this a more realistic depiction of poverty and familial unrest than other“working class” sitcoms like “Married…with Children,” and as such, it can make for a painful and uncomfortable experience. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, as the series is also very, very funny. Its stellar quality has remained consistent throughout its run, which is more than most shows can say.

One of the most famous and commendable aspects of “Orange Is the New Black” is its nuanced portrayal of LGBT characters. If you want that part of “Orange” but as a whole show, then you should check out “The L Word.” “The L Word” was a Showtime drama that followed a group of lesbians in their everyday lives. While “The L Word” has been criticized for being rather melodramatic and soap opera-y, it was also a groundbreaking series for its time. It starred openly gay characters, portrayed them as being complex and interesting, and, like “Orange Is the New Black,” it showed them having raw and graphic sex. There was nothing like it in 2004, and it helped scratch a major representational itch.

It’s not often that you see a drama as great as “Good Girls” on network TV. “Good Girls” is an NBC crime-drama-comedy hybrid starring Mae Whitman, Retta, and Christina Hendricks as three suburban mothers who decide to rob a supermarket. All three actresses are fantastic in their roles, and much like “Orange Is the New Black,” they embody multifaceted antiheroes who make for thrilling and unpredictable protagonists. It will certainly fill that unique female-led crime-drama-comedy hole that “Orange Is the New Black” left behind, and it’s also a wonderful show in its own right. Plus, you can never really get enough of Christina Hendricks. She’s just magnificent.

“Girls Incarcerated” is a very interesting Netflix documentary TV series about the female inmates of Indiana’s Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility. It’s like “Orange Is the New Black,” but in real life! Like the show, it also depicts a few prison character archetypes, for lack of a better word. There’s the new inmate who clashes with various prisoners, there’s the inmates eagerly awaiting their upcoming release, and there’s the “bad girl” who causes trouble for everyone. It’s a fascinating look into prison life, the interesting people within, the circumstances that brought them there, and the effects that prison has on their development and characters.

“Prison Break” was THE hottest show on television for, like, one year there. The first season aired throughout 2005 and 2006, and it followed Michael Scofield as he planned an elaborate prison break to get his falsely accused brother off death row. It was one of the biggest TV events of the mid-2000s, competing with other buzz-worthy network dramas like “24” and “Lost.” It’s certainly more fast-paced than “Orange Is the New Black,” and far more violent and action-oriented, but it’s still an exhilarating series centered around prison drama and familial relationships. Just, maybe stop somewhere around season two. Things kind of go off the rails after that.

“Oz” is the prison show to end all prison shows. And, fun fact, it was also the first one-hour drama to be produced by HBO! With “Oz,” HBO boldly entered the television market and staked their claim as television’s most ambitious, controversial, and adult-oriented network. The series chronicles the daily lives of the inmates of Oswald State Penitentiary, a fictional maximum-security prison. The show stars a stellar cast who portray some truly despicable characters, and it features all the gruesome violence and disturbing sequences you expect from HBO. “Oz” proved that the ambitious network willing to take risks and show raw and mature content unlike anything else on TV. It’s a little low budget by today’s HBO standards, but it’s a seminal piece of television history.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Jailbirds” (2019)

“High Maintenance” (2012-)

“Orphan Black” (2013-17)

“Fargo” (2014-)

“Nurse Jackie” (2009-15)

“Wentworth” is basically “Orange Is the New Black’s” Australian counterpart, as the two share a shocking number of similarities. At first, the show chronicles the adventures of new inmate Bea Smith as she slowly adapts to prison life. In later seasons, it opens up to include more of an ensemble cast of female inmates. Sound familiar? It also portrays the inmates as three-dimensional and complex people, and it too features lesbianism as a major theme. The major difference between “Wentworth” and “Orange” is that “Wentworth” is far more gritty, violent, and exciting, more akin to “Prison Break” and “Oz.” That said, if you prefer your “Orange” a little darker, like seasons two and four, then “Wentworth” is your show.