In the age of Netflix and binge watching, everyone is looking for the next big television phenomenon. But it’s already here. Orphan Black will premiere its second season on Saturday, April 19 on BBC America.
The show follows British drug dealer Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany), who discovers that she is part of a mysterious human clone project and embarks upon a quest to uncover her origins with her fellow lookalike clones. Sound strange and complicated? Well, so is Game of Thrones!
So if you’re not already a member of the Clone Club, here’s why you should be:
1. Fantastic Felix
Every female badass needs a quippy sidekick, and not since Revenge‘s Nolan Ross has there been one this delicious! Sarah’s foster brother Felix Dawkins (Jordan Gavaris) is flamboyant, sarcastic, appropriately manipulative, and fiercely loyal to his childhood pal and her lookalike friends.
2. Talented Tatiana
It’s rare that the same actress can play a host of different characters and make each of them come to life. Pulling off a slew of accents, Tatiana Maslany gracefully plays a broad range of women, from an American soccer mom to a deranged Russian zealot. She manages to make each clone come to life — and when some are killed off, their deaths feel like painful losses.
3. Ringer Done Right
When Buffy‘s Sarah Michelle Gellar returned to TV in 2011’s Ringer, many thought it would be a triumphant return. However, the show flopped after one season. Gellar played identical twin sisters, who switch identities after one of the siblings stages her own death. A similar scenario unfolds in the premiere of Orphan Black, but in place of Ringer’s cheesy green screens and faulty plotlines, the BBC drama executes the doppelganger scenes seamlessly.
4. The Best Desperate Housewife
It’s been almost two years since ABC’s salacious hit Desperate Housewives went off the air, and now that Gabby, Bree, Lynette, and Susan are gone, Alison Hendrix is ready to take their place. This suburban clone is paranoid, protective, and doesn’t have a problem knocking back several glasses of Chardonnay. Combine that with her nosy neighbors and suspicious husband, and Alison might be a bigger badass than any of her twin sisters.
5. Plausible Premise
Bear with Us. Clones are not scientifically possible yet, but if they were, the world would likely react similarly to how it does on Orphan Black. The scientific community would arguably marvel at the achievement while keeping a close, monitoring eye on the “project,” and religious extremists would blast the creations as ungodly, some even resorting to violence. When you think about it, Orphan Black is more realistic than Scandal’s secret government torture agency B613.
Tell Us: Will you watch Orphan Black?