In this year’s Emmy race, “Orange Is the New Black” embodies the most important change in television in recent years.
No, not Netflix. Women.
“Orange,” with multiple-nominee “House of Cards,” does give Netflix an Atlas-like stance over the television landscape; HBO is the only other outlet with both comedy series and drama series nominees.
But with 12 nominations, more than any other scripted comedy, “Orange Is the New Black” has a much bigger point to prove: Women, both as creators and characters, are changing the nature of comedy, and television.