I hear a lot of grumbling among fans of my acquaintance that Orange is the New Black went off track after the first two seasons, and I couldn’t disagree more.

It is only after establishing the characters and backstories that the series begins to explore important, systemic issues–privatization of prisons, intersectional oppression, institutional racism–and Season 6 continues in this vein in powerful ways while introducing some interesting, new characters.

Season 5 recounts a riot that erupts over a popular character’s murder by a guard at the end of Season 4, and that device–having an entire season take place over three days–worked for me as a change-up because the preceding narrative provides motivation and events of the riot set up the fall-out developed throughout Season 6.

As viewers know, the series is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison.

Kerman spent her year in incarceration in a minimum-security, federal prison, and her alter-ego Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) has a much more protracted stint in jail.

It is only after Chapman’s initial “fish out of water” storyline (privileged White woman in prison) is exhausted that the series is freed to explore critical social issues.

Season 6 of Orange is the New Black is not just entertaining–it’s important.