10 Reasons We're Beyond Excited That Orange is the New Black is Back

It's June 6. You know what that means, don't you? The next time you refresh Netflix, an entire shiny new season of Orange is the New Black will be right there waiting for you. Here are just 10 reasons why we couldn't be more excited to stay stuck on our couches this weekend and knock season 2 out:

1. Feeling the Binge: If you're anything like us, you will set your email's automatic vacation reply, turn your phone to 'do not disturb,' and power down that tablet on June 6 for the binge-viewing session of the year. The first season of Orange is the New Black took many by surprise and even we totally weren't prepared for an all-consuming addiction, but this time we're ready. We will be hydrated, stretched, and focused for 13 hours with our favorite inmates, families, and correctional officers. The come-down might be fierce. There may even be a period of post-binge withdrawal. But, like so many of these characters, the consequences are the last thing on our minds going into this epic adventure. Who needs sleep (or food) anyway?

2. Alex Vause, Alex Vause, Alex Vause: She may not be as present as she was in the first season (and that reportedly goes for season three, as well), but dammit, she’s there somewhere! For months we have been desperately waiting for more of our Litchfield's Finest Heroin Trafficker (not to mention Litchfield's Finest Glasses) in our lives, and now we are mere momets away. Alex and Piper's future may be rocky, but as long as Laura Prepon's name appears somewhere in the credits, we are some happy inmates.

3. Crazy Eyes: You know your heart broke last season when Sue asked why everyone calls her Crazy Eyes. Uzo Aduba's aggressively doting character may have come on a little strong at first, but we soon became just as attached to her as she was to her dandelion. And sure, Litchfield's Poet Laureate may have some pretty nasty habits, but it looks like there may be a new reason for her to actually pee in a toilet this season. Which brings us to the next item on our countdown... 

4. Fresh Meat: Season two promises several new inmates to shake things up at Litchfield, including Lorraine Toussaint as queenpin Vee and Tank Girl'sLori Petty in an as yet unknown role. While cast and crew remain tight-lipped, we do know that Vee is a long-time drug maven who used children as runners for her product. We will see Vee's backstory during this upcoming season, which may include her history with fallen prison matriarch Red (Kate Mulgrew), whose response to Vee's appearance in the trailer is as icy as a Moscow winter. Toussaint recently recurred on SheWired favorite The Fosters and I look forward to her going head-to-head with Red as the Russian chef attempts to reclaim her throne (or ladle). 

5. Cover Girl Laverne Cox: Transgender actress Laverne Cox graces the cover of Time magazine's June 9 issue in a story about the increasing visibility and acceptance of trans people. Cox has become a public face of the transgender movement and her character Sophia's story was told in flashback during the first season. We saw Sophia pre-transition (played by Cox's twin brother) and experienced her family's struggle with the transition, as well as the credit card fraud that paid for the surgery, which is why she's behind bars. In present day Litchfield, Sophia's gender is only one aspect of the hairdresser's personality in a three dimensional representation that supports Time's argument of a cultural “Tipping Point” for transgender people. We can't wait to see what both Cox and Sophia will do next!

6. Orphan Is the New Black: Wait, you mean there isn’t a crossover episode where Tatiana Maslany plays all the inmates? Fine. But next season, we’re just saying...

7. Backstories Abound: How many times during the first season did you ask yourself, “What did that nice Morello girl do to end up in prison?” or “Why would a sweet old nun be incarcerated”? Well, wonder no more because this season we are promised flashbacks of recurring characters including Morello (Yael Stone), Sister Ingalls (Beth Fowler), Taystee (Danielle Brooks, who was promoted to series regular), Poussey (Samira Wiley), and Miss Rosa (Barbara Rosenblatt). This is your last chance to start placing those wagers at your local gambling parlor before all is revealed. This is a thing bookmakers in Vegas are doing right? Otherwise I have no idea who I gave $50 to for Yoga Jones (Constance Schulman) as an eco-terrorist.

8. The Pennsatucky Payback: OITNB's first season concluded with Piper (Taylor Schilling) brutally beating religious zealot and meth addict Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett (Taryn Manning) to a bloody pulp(it). Season two opens with an unhinged Piper in solitary confinement where she has spent the period between seasons. While Manning's promotion to series regular answers any questions of Doggett's survival, it seems safe to say she won't be focusing on forgiveness when the pair next meet. Not only am I desperate to learn of our favorite meth-head's plans for retribution, we also dearly hope Correctional Officer Healy will pay for his sins. Healy transformed from a potential ally for Piper to a homophobic misogynist who at times locked her in both solitary (for dancing suggestively with another woman) and outside with the crudely armed Doggett facilitating the finale's beat-down. In a cast of morally gray characters Healy may be most deserving of (and perhaps least likely to receive) his comeuppance.

9. More sing-alongs: Everyone loves a good, ol' fashion musical episode and there was nary a moment we enjoyed more last season than the Christmas Pageant. With a cast that includes Broadway musical vets Uza Aduba (Godspell) and Annie Golden (Hair, Xanadu, On the Town, Violet...the point is made) it is definitely time to make musical moments happen over at Litchfield. Also, more musical moments would lead to more dance parties, and we know how well that went last time...(or didn't, if you're Piper, who just can't stay out of solitary). Or hey, if we can't get a musical episode, maybe we could get at least Litchfield Prom? (In our dreams?)

10. We're just that much closer to Season 3: We all know we're going to blow through season 2 with only the extra time it takes to use the bathroom occasionally, but no worries, OITNB already been renewed for a third round! So as you're lamenting the end of season 2 — which, sadly, we all know is in almost as near a future as the season 2 release — just remember that there is more to come. We made it through this wait, we can do it again! And now we'll have even more binge-marathoning to do. Every week. Forever. 

A merry Orange is the New Black Day to us all!