Members of Clone Club everywhere, rejoice! Now that its stellar second season has concluded, BBC America’s sci-fi thriller-drama Orphan Black has been renewed for a third season of ten episodes.
Given the show’s massive popularity with critics and a loyal audience, the pick-up doesn’t come as a surprise at all. In fact, I was only mildly confused by the news, having been under the impression that BBC America had ordered a third string of episodes earlier back in the sophomore season’s run. Regardless, the show’s future is now assured, and production on the third season will kick off in Toronto this September. A premiere in the spring o f 2015 is expected.
Orphan Black has become a flagship show for BBC America, which is moving to expand its line-up of original programming past the wildly successful, time-travelling hit Doctor Who. The network is no doubt willing to keep Orphan Black around for as long as show creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett and star Tatiana Maslany are willing to keep making it. After all, the program has racked up a fair number of accolades throughout its first and second seasons (despite Maslany being snubbed this morning for an Emmy). So far, Maslany has scored a Golden Globe nomination and honors from the Critics’ Choice TV Awards, TCA Awards and Canadian Screen Awards. Orphan Black also took home a Peabody Award this year.
With the renewal, Orphan Black joins returning series Broadchurch, eight-episode historical series The Last Kingdom (based on Bernard Cromwell’s Saxon Stories about the reign of Vikings) and eight-episode Cook Islands-set mystery series Tatau, from the the producers of BBC America’s popular supernatural drama Being Human.
We’ll be looking forward to seeing what Manson and Fawcett have in mind for season three of Orphan Black, particularly after the game-changing second season finale which I won’t spoil for the uninitiated here. Suffice to say, you need to make this show your summer addiction as soon as possible.
