Just how do you end such a successful long-running drama series after seven years?
As Orange Is The New Black comes to a close with season 7, showrunner Jenji Kohan had to answer that same question, but has now revealed one ending that almost made the cut.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Kohan revealed that the Netflix series almost had a very meta ending that called back to the show's origins as adapting a memoir by real-life writer Piper Kerman.
One ending that was considered would have seen Kerman's series counterpart Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) pitching a potential television series on her prison experience to an actress portraying Kohan herself.
Kohan revealed: "I mentioned it to my 13-year-old over dinner, and he’s like, ‘No, you can’t end the show like that !’"
Executive producer Tara Herrmann agreed: "It would have taken away from the grounded and important show that we wanted to make."
One thing that Kohan isn't so sure about is whether Orange Is The New Black will be followed up by a sequel series or spin-off property.
"I don’t know what’s happening five days from now, so who knows?" she said.
It was a tough time filming those final scenes on the series, however, as Kohan revealed the emotional toll the finale took on them all.
Kohan said: "We shot hard, emotional scenes for seven years, but when you’re on set, and you know it’s the last time you’re shooting one of those scenes with someone, and…they burst into tears, it’s intense."
We're not crying, you're crying.
Orange Is The New Black season 7 is available now on Netflix.
Would you have approved of this ending of OITNB? Let us know in the comments below.
