Arthur Kade chats with Laura Prepon of Netflix's Orange is the New Black about the end of the hit series, her directing experience, and more!

The seventh and final season of Orange is the New Black is available for our viewing pleasure on Netflix! Star Laura Prepon tells Arthur about her feelings on the show's end, and credits her experience on That '70s Show for her preparedness for it. The star shares,

 "I'm really thankful that That '70s Show went for eight years because I could prepare myself for being on a show this long and becoming the family that it is. So you can prepare yourself at the end, you know you're just going to cry every day."

Prepon recognizes that with the end of such an iconic show comes a great legacy. She tells Arthur,

 "The show is the first of its kind and it's the last of its kind. There will be other incredible shows, of course. But 'Orange,' when we came out, how we came out, the stories that we told, the women that we represented on the show, we were the first of its kind."

Prepon definitely hits the nail on the head with this statement, as OITNB's popularity has proven that the world had been longing to see something they hadn't really seen before, which was a series that focused on female-led stories. Prepon believes that her character definitely helped to build this legacy and is proud of what it has done for society. She says,

 "When people watch my character, and they say they feel represented, they feel seen and heard, that is everything."

Prepon's characters, as well as the other characters on the show, represent real types of people going through real-world problems, and they allow people to feel like they are not alone in their struggles. Prepon explains,

"Relationships are so important. The relationships that matter, you really have to nurture them and there's so many special relationships from the show that will continue on."

Acting isn't the only thing that Prepon is talented at! The star started directing a long time ago, when female directors were hard to come-by. She shares with Arthur her thoughts on the amount of females in the directors chair and her decision to ignore criticism,

"I mean, there's still not enough...When I first started directing, people would look at me like, wait...you're directing?...it's just something that I've always just kind of dealt with and pushed through, and you know, did it anyway."

Hopefully Prepon inspires women around the world to follow their dreams and ignore the haters! If she hadn't turned a blind eye to the negativity of the world, then the star would not be lighting up the Empire State Building with some of her OITNB cast-mates. She says,

"When I found out, I got chills, because I was...you know, being from Jersey, you come into the city, you see the Empire State Building, it represents so much, and then to know that a project that you're apart of, that the day you premiere...they're turning it orange...to represent our show...it's such an honor."

An honor well-deserved, for sure! Finally, Prepon spills on her most memorable moment of the beloved show. She tells Arthur,

"My first thought is probably the first day that Taylor and I worked together...on the pilot. We were filming at this apartment in Brooklyn, and the first time we worked together, we knew it was something special."

We will definitely miss special moments like these on Orange is the New Black, but in the mean time, check out the final season only on Netflix!