Some TV shows are funny. Others are educational, others are interesting, and others exist purely for the entertainment. Netflix’s original series “Orange is the New Black” is the entire package, from hysterical to devastating, and from goofy to heart-wrenchingly serious.

The show is based off of a memoir written by Piper Kerman entitled Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. Kerman’s story is unique because she never expected to land in prison; she is even a self-described WASP and much of the show is centered around the sheer irony of an upper-class, educated white woman getting incarcerated. Years before she was convicted, Kerman was partially involved in an international drug trade with her girlfriend at the time. However, she left the drug dealing business and pursued a quiet and “normal” life in New York City with her fiancé, until her world turns upside down.

Initially, one can tell that Orange is the New Black has incredible potential as a show because of its plot. For some reason, Americans are drawn to ironic shows about regular people who unexpectedly get themselves involved in major trouble, such as Weeds and Breaking Bad. What these two shows and OITNB have in common is that they are all about somewhat financially stable middle aged white people who end up in a complex drug scandal. Currently, this seems to be the most attractive topic for a TV show, so Orange is the New Black is expected to explode with popularity.

“Binge-watching” became a popular term around the year 2014, when Netflix began to be purchased by every household. This show reinvented the term, since it was created as a Netflix original show, so therefore it is fast-paced and action-packed– perfect for plowing through an entire season in a day and watching hours of episodes nonstop. This type of show keeps you entertained at every moment, unlike other shows which are drawn out.

Along with being exciting, this show is entertaining because of its well-written script. Most comedies are funny, but not in the way that OITNB is. Watching a sitcom, most people let out an occasional chuckle if anything. Netflix’s original series induces audible laughs in its audience. Sometimes it’s necessary to pause the show for a couple seconds just to take in how purely funny a line was.

The show’s comedic factor isn’t its only valuable asset. For every funny moment, there is an equally serious moment. For every time the show has delivered bouts of laughter, it has made its audience cry. It deals with heavy topics and delves into the pasts of the inmates, drawing sympathy and interest from viewers. The show switches back and forth from present time in the prison to previous years before characters were incarcerated, to show them in life before they were convicted of a crime. Besides being entertaining, this shows audience members that inmates were once living life in the outside world just like everyone else. This is a main theme of the show, and it is a unique and wise perspective which teaches its viewers a valuable lesson.

Watching Orange is the New Black, one can actually learn a lot about friendship, diversity, love, power, inferiority, and the way people interact with each other. The show has a diverse cast of all ages and races, and it portrays its characters pretty accurately. It reaches out to a wide range of people by featuring almost every type of person in the cast: white women, black women, Latina women, Asian women, lesbians, transgender people, rich people, poor people, old people, etc. Up until now, shows were frequently about mostly white rich people, occasionally poor people, and sometimes people of other races. OITNB is completely real, representing the real America and not just what people want to see.

Although it is mostly about women, since it is set in a women’s prison, OITNB is certainly not just for girls. Some “chick flicks” and shows about women have reputations for being sappy and having unsubstantial plots. However, Netflix’s original series is perfect for anyone, boy or girl, young or old, serious or silly. This is because it is every type of show: it is the funny show, the sad show, the suspenseful show, the uplifting show, the depressing show, the weird show, the relatable show, and overall the perfect show for everybody.