iWorld
Netflix renews ‘Orange is the New Black’ for three seasons
MUMBAI: Netflix has renewed Lionsgate’s original series Orange is the New Black for three additional seasons.
Season four of the comedic drama set in a women’s prison from creator and executive producer Jenji Kohan will premiere on 17 June with additional seasons five, six and seven premiering in future years.
Currently seasons one through three are streaming on Netflix.
Concurrently, it was announced that series creator and executive producer Jenji Kohan has committed to continue as Orange is the New Black’s executive producer and showrunner for seasons five, six and seven.
“Jenji and her team have produced a phenomenal and impactful series that is both funny and dramatic, outrageous and heartfelt. Audiences around the world have come to love the ladies and men of Orange is the New Black, and we are eager to see where three more seasons will take them,” said Netflix vice president of original content Cindy Holland.
“Three more years! Not quite a political term, but still plenty of time to do some interesting things. In some cultures, ‘May you lead an interesting life,’ is a curse, but I don’t live in those cultures,” said Kohan. “Here’s to keeping it interesting. Thanks Netflix! Both thanks and you’re welcome Lionsgate! And kudos and gratitude to the stellar cast and crew and writers and producers and editors and musicians and mixers and shleppers… with whom I have the pride and honor of crafting this show. Three more years! Three more years!”
“We’re proud to continue our long-standing relationships with Netflix and the incredibly talented Jenji Kohan and delighted that one of the most acclaimed shows on television will continue on Netflix for three more seasons,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs. “Jenji’s brilliant creative vision and a truly amazing cast have catapulted Orange is the New Black to the forefront of the platinum age of television, and we’re pleased that Orange fans around the world will be rewarded with another three seasons.”
The hour-long series stars a diverse and award-winning ensemble of women including Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Laverne Cox, Dascha Polanco, Danielle Brooks, Selenis Leyva, Samira Wiley, Taryn Manning, Yael Stone, Jackie Cruz, Lea DeLaria, Adrienne C. Moore and Elizabeth Rodriguez, along with Michael Harney and Nick Sandow. The series is based on the best-selling memoir of the same name by Piper Kerman.
iWorld
Prashant Iyer joins Sony LIV as head of marketing
The former Netflix India director grew the streamer’s social following from half a million to 55m
MUMBAI: Sony LIV has poached one of India’s most battle-hardened streaming marketers. Prashant Iyer, who spent nearly eight years at Netflix building its India operation into a social-media juggernaut, has joined the platform as head of marketing.
Iyer leaves Netflix having done rather a lot. He grew the streamer’s India social community from roughly 500,000 followers to over 55m, delivered engagement and organic impressions double those of rivals, and ran more than 250 campaigns across titles, brand and partnerships. In his final role as director, marketing, he sat on the core leadership team credited with driving 15-times revenue and subscription growth over eight years. He also served as the only director-level social leader across Asia-Pacific, a regional mandate that stretched across a 200m-plus follower community.
Before Netflix came Nike, where Iyer spent three and a half years straddling digital brand commerce and key account management, including ownership of Myntra, the brand’s largest digital account in India. Earlier still, Titan Company gave him his first crack at brand and digital marketing.
Sony LIV, which has been muscling for position in an increasingly crowded streaming market, has landed a marketer who knows precisely how to build an audience from scratch and, just as importantly, how to keep it. For a platform still chasing the kind of cultural cachet Netflix India took years to earn, that is not a bad place to start.
