It's the end of an era for the long-suffering inmates and prison guards of Litchfield Penitentiary (and its maximum security counterpart) as Netflix's award-winning Orange Is the New Black draws to a close with season 7.

One silver lining from its upcoming conclusion is the possibility of a sequel series, as Netflix producers are reportedly in talks with creator Jenji Kohan for future instalments.

Daya and Daddy in OITNB Netflix

But fans won't be seeing the return of Dascha Polanco's stalwart Daya Diaz in any spinoffs, as the Russian Doll star has confirmed that season seven is the end for her character.

"I know that season seven is the end for me," Polanco told Digital Spy. "The ending has been bittersweet – every day when I went to set, I tried to enjoy the time. I tried to reflect on everything that has happened over the last six years.

"It's exciting to see what's coming next for me as an actress and an artist. But for Dayanara, I think she has had a great season, and we'll definitely see a different facet of her character. I'm excited for the audience to enjoy it for the last time."

Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Harper's BAZAAR

The last few seasons have been life-changing for Daya, who has transitioned from slightly naive and loyal to thuggish. She's murdered a prison guard, had a baby, experimented with her sexuality with Vicci Martinez's Daddy, struggled with a drug addiction, and helped her mother – Elizabeth Rodriguez's Aleida – import drugs into prison.

Meanwhile, the shock ending of season six featured the unexpected release of Taylor Schilling's Piper Chapman.

Explaining what fans can expect in the final season, the star continued: "I think [season 7] we will see many people adjusting outside of prison, and Daya's mother is outside of prison, so we will see how she's adapting to life outside, and how different it is with each person's turn on the outside.

"It's interesting that Daya is incarcerated and her mom is outside, and how it affects her while she's still inside. [Her addiction] is a web that's hard to get out of, and the more time spent in prison, unless you are able to detach yourself and you want to get out, you'll always be in a circle of repetition and constant battle."

Netflix

On Daya's fate, Polanco suggested: "I think that for her, unless she gets professional help, Daddy will feed her addiction – whether it's that drug, or they move on to the next one.

"It's a real issue that America is going through with opioid addiction at the moment, and the show is dealing with it sensitively."

Discussing the series' groundbreaking storylines and the show's representation of women of all different sizes, ethnicities and backgrounds, Polanco added: "Orange Is the New Black could have gone on for a long time and continued telling stories of the core group of people it has been representing.

Netflix

"It's a big show to tackle social issues that we're going through, and I'm sad that it's ending because of that, but I'm excited what's next for me."

Polanco currently stars in Russian Doll alongside OITNB co-star and the show's co-writer Natasha Lyonne, available to stream now on Netflix.

Dascha Polanco and Charlie Barnett in Russian Doll Courtesy of Netflix

The actress will appear next in Ava DuVernay's series When They See Us based on the notorious case of five men falsely imprisoned for the rape of Trisha Meili in Central Park in 1989.

Orange Is the New Black seasons 1 -6 are available to stream on Netflix now, with season 7 coming later this year.

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