"Orphan Black," the clone-tastic BBC America series that was most famous for turning one Tatiana Maslany into dozens of distinct Tatiana Maslanys in one hell of an acting masterclass, is apparently coming back ... in some form, at least. That's the news of the day, coming straight from AMC (via Entertainment Weekly), as the network has announced a new "Orphan Black" spin-off series set in the near future that will continue the general story of a group of women subjected to scientific and technological experiments by shady corporations.
While not the most consistent in terms of quality from season-to-season, the original series ran for five total seasons from 2013 to 2017 and inspired a fiercely devoted fanbase. Positive reactions sprung mostly from Maslany's incredible and time-consuming work in portraying several different "Project Leda" clones at a time, the downright progressive portrayal of various women and LGBTQ+ characters, and the "Lost"-esque central mystery involving body horror, Russian assassin-clones, and a corporate conspiracy spanning the entire globe. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how the logistics of painstakingly filming that one scene depicting all the clones partaking in an impromptu dance sequence still lives inside my mind rent-free all these years later.
Clone club, this one's for you. While there's no word on whether actor Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, or any of the other cast members of the original series will be returning for the spin-off, "Orphan Black: Echoes" is now officially a go, according to AMC Networks. It's tough to imagine that Maslany, most recently seen in the first season of HBO's "Perry Mason" and who will next star in Marvel's upcoming "She-Hulk" series on Disney+, will manage to find time to reprise her role(s) in any significant way. Though information on the new series is being kept under wraps, the officially released description for the spin-off at least hints towards a whole new batch of characters set within the same world as "Orphan Black":
Honestly, as far as general synopses go, this could pretty much describe exactly how the original series unfolded. In other words, we know pretty much nothing about whatever "Orphan Black: Echoes" has in store for viewers.
In any case, the news itself is sure to delight fans who never quite left behind the harrowing and emotional adventures of main hero Sarah Manning, soccer mom Alison Hendrix, scientific nerd Cosima Niehaus, the endearingly unhinged Helena, the villainous Rachel Duncan, and all the rest of the many, many clones. We do know, however, that the new series will receive a 10-episode season and will come from creator, writer, showrunner and executive producer Anna Fishko ("Colony," "Pieces of Her," "The Society," "Fear the Walking Dead") along with director and executive producer John Fawcett, co-creator of the original series and who also directed almost two dozen episodes. Original "Orphan Black" executive producers David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg will make their returns in the same roles for "Echo," as well.
The spin-off is set to premiere on AMC+ and "the company's linear networks" (meaning either BBC America, AMC, or both) sometime in 2023. More details on the project are sure to come.
