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'Orange Is the New Black' - Let’s start with the one we all know: 'Orange Is the New Black.' This American comedy-drama helped put Netflix original programming on the map back in 2013.
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'Orange Is the New Black' - There have been several lesbian couples on 'Orange Is the New Black,' but the relationship between Alex (Laura Prepon) and Piper (Taylor Schilling) rules supreme.
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'Wentworth' - 'Wentworth,' also known as 'Wentworth Prison,' is another high-profile women’s prison show that’s still on the air, having also premiered in 2013.
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'Wentworth' - Again, there have been several lesbian relationships on this Australian show, and quite a few beloved couples. But in many ways it was Nicole da Silva’s character Franky Doyle that really embodied what the series is all about.
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'Prisoner' - Australian fans will know that 'Wentworth' is actually a reimagining of 'Prisoner' (1979 to 1986), also known as 'Prisoner: Cell Block H' and 'Caged Women.'
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'Prisoner' - 'Prisoner' also had several lesbian characters, including their own Franky Doyle (played by Carol Burns).
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'Celblok H' - All of this might also sound familiar to the Dutch. 'Celblok H,' an adaptation of 'Wentworth,' ran from 2014 to 2017.
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'Celblok H' - Fans really seemed to enjoy the chemistry between Freddy (Eva van de Wijdeven, pictured) and Bodine (played by Caro Lenssen in 2016, and then by Ilse Ott in 2017).
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'Bad Girls' - Time to discuss one of the most iconic women’s prison shows ever: 'Bad Girls.' The British drama ran from 1999 to 2006.
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'Bad Girls' - There were a few popular lesbian couples on this series as well, but Helen (Simone Lahbib) and Nikki (Mandana Jones) take the cake.
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'Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast' - 'Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast' ("Behind Bars – The Women's Prison") was Germany’s response to the genre. The soap opera ran from 1997 to 2007, with a DVD box set coming out in 2010 containing two previously unaired episodes.
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'Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast' - Lesbian couple Walter (Katy Karrenbauer, pictured) and Bea (Sonia Farke) were quite popular with fans of the show.
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'Vis a vis' - 'Vis a vis,' also known as 'Locked Up,' is an ongoing Spanish drama that premiered in 2015.
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'Vis a vis' - Fans enjoy lead character Macarena’s (Maggie Civantos, right) romance with Rizos (Berta Vázquez, left).
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'Unité 9' - 'Unité 9' ("Unit 9") is a French-Canadian prison drama that premiered in 2012.
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'Unité 9' - Concluding in late March 2019, this show also depicted lesbian relationships.
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'Within These Walls' - 'Within These Walls' was a British drama series that ran from 1974 to 1978. Unlike most shows on this list, it focused on the prison staff as opposed to the inmates.
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'Within These Walls' - While not overtly queer (not surprising for the time), the show did include lesbian themes.
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'Women in Prison' - Now a rarity on this list: a sitcom. The American show 'Women in Prison' ran from 1987 to 1988.
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'Women in Prison' - Again, not an overtly queer show, but it too included lesbian themes.
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'Stranger Inside' - Switching things up yet again, there’s the American made-for-TV movie 'Stranger Inside.'
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'Stranger Inside' - Released in 2001 on HBO, the Cheryl Dunye-directed TV movie did not shy away from lesbian sex scenes.
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'Affinity' - Yet another women’s prison television film was 2008’s 'Affinity,' based on the Sarah Waters book of the same name.
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'Affinity' - Set in Victorian England, 'Affinity' made the film festival circuit run first before ending up on TV shortly afterwards.
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'Kittens in a Cage' - 'Kittens in a Cage' is a 2015 American comedy web series set in a women’s prison.
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'Kittens in a Cage'
- Main character Junie (Rebecca Mozo) is a popular new prisoner, with a few fellow inmates swooning over her. See also: The best prison movies ever released.
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'Orange Is the New Black' and other popular women’s prison shows
The final season of 'OITNB' has just dropped
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Women's prison shows—it seems like they've been with us forever. Well, in popular culture, they have been with us for going on half a century. And, if we're honest with ourselves, there's one thing these series tend to have in common: lesbian relationships. Whether dramas or comedies, female inmates on television do get paired together an awful lot. This phenomenon has produced some iconic couples (think 'Orange Is the New Black' and 'Bad Girls'), so it's clearly working! What's more, it's working across the globe.
Click through this gallery to discover the world's best women's prison shows with lesbian relationships.
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