Netflix’s own creation, “Orange Is The New Black,” was a show that I was initially hesitant to watch it as I was used to my cable shows like “Sons of Anarchy” and “Breaking Bad.” But hearing the rave reviews about the new show from the up and coming content producer Netflix, I finally gave in and started to stream. Now, I would consider it one of the best shows I’ve ever watched.

“Orange Is the New Black” is based on the memoir “Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison” by Piper Kerman. The show is produced by Jenji Kohan, who also produced the widely popular show “Weeds” on showtime that ran from 2005-2007. The story revolves around Piper Chapman, who is played by Taylor Schilling, an affluent New Yorker that was sentenced to 15 months to prison from her past crime of getting herself involved in a drug ring with her former girlfriend. Chapman, as she is referred to in prison, has to figure out her place in the facility and how to survive the diverse cast of inmates who she’s incarcerated with. Although the show deviates from the true material of the book, the foundation for the show springs from some true to life experiences.

The show’s mood is more upbeat than one would think considering the setting, even in a prison, the show manages to sneak humor into every episode. Also, the intro song, by Regina Spektor, is not only great, but gives each episode the perfect note to begin on.

One of the best aspects of “Orange is the New Black” is the glimpse we get into the different inmates’ lives before they were in jail.  For example, in one of the episodes, we get to focus in on the early life of Chapman’s roommate, Miss Claudette, who was eventually found guilty of running an illegal immigration and child-labor cleaning service. But, the show also shows the reason behind Miss Claudette’s motives and also showing a lighter side of Miss Claudette, which most viewers don’t expect.

The show has been nominated for numerous awards, such as Favorite Streaming Series from the People’s Choice Award. Schilling earned a Golden Globe nod for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series-Drama and Regina Spektor snatched the Best Song Written for Visual Media category at the recent Grammy Awards for the show intro, “You’ve Got Time.”

“Orange Is The New Black” is on par with the other Netflix production “House of Cards” and is easily rivaling HBO and Showtime for excellent episodic content.

*Parental Warning – I would only recommend this show to anyone over the age of 18 as it is rated TV-MA as it contains some sexualy explicit content, language, violence and nudity.