The Orange Is the New Black Timeline: When Are We?

Time moves slowly in prison, and if we're talking about Orange Is the New Black, it also moves strangely. We're on season three now and have only gotten a few benchmarks on what the timeline of the show is. Through holidays, seasons, and, well, pregnancies, we've put together a rough OITNB timeline. See how far we've come here, then catch up on what happened in season two and everything we know about season four.

Season 1 Starts in Late Summer
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Season 1 Starts in Late Summer

First of all, Piper is sentenced to 15 months in prison, to give you an idea of our starting point. On Piper's last day before entering prison, she and Larry spend her last night having an outdoor barbecue in New York City in the Summer.

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Episode nine of season one is a Thanksgiving episode, which is also around the time that Daya realizes she's pregnant.

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Season one ends around Christmas time — it's outside the Christmas pageant that Pennsatucky confronts Piper and Piper beats her up.

Season 1 Lasts About 6 Months
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Season 1 Lasts About 6 Months

From that rough outline, season one is under six months long.

Season 2 Starts in January
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Season 2 Starts in January

It's speculated that Piper spends about a month in the SHU for attacking Pennsatucky, putting the beginning of season two around January.

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Episode six of season two hits Valentine's Day, so the first half of season two is only about a month long.

Season 2 Ends in Early Spring
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Season 2 Ends in Early Spring

In the season two finale, it's sunny but cold (Vee wears a coat and mittens when she escapes), leading us to speculate that it's early Spring when season two ends, making season two only last two to three months.

Season 3 Begins in May
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Season 3 Begins in May

The season three premiere has a distinct date: it's Mother's Day, putting us at mid-May.

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That means when season three begins, Daya is about seven months along.

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Piper's birthday is June 7, which occurs about four episodes into season three.