Orphan Black renewed for a second series By:

Along with my earlier revelation that Mad Dogs was a guilty telly pleasure, I might as well come clean and admit that now in the same category is Orphan Black. Thankfully, the announcement that the BBC America series has been renewed for a second series comes just prior to the conspiracy clone thriller’s series 1 finale on Saturday, June 1.

Orphan Black stars Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning, a street-wise hustler who passes herself off as an identical woman who recently committed suicide. Orphan Black centers on Sarah (Maslany), an outsider and orphan whose life changes dramatically after witnessing the suicide of Beth, who looks just like her. Not only does Sarah take her identity, she also grabs her boyfriend and her bank account. Unfortunately, instead of solving her problems, Sarah is thrust headlong into a multi-layered mystery.

I have to admit I was a bit confused for the first couple of episodes but intrigued enough to tough it out to figure out what was going on. A couple of episodes in, it’s clear that this is an intense, complex thriller that was worth sticking with.

In addition to the fact that Tatiana Maslany is hauntingly brilliant, Orphan Black sports a stellar supporting cast including Dylan Bruce (the boyfriend), Maria Doyle Kennedy as Mrs. S and Jordan Gavaris as Sarah’s foster brother. You might recognize Kennedy from Downton Abbey (Vera Bates), The Committments or Julian Fellowes’ Titanic.

If you haven’t seen it, this 3:00+ minute clip should hook you enough to power watch series 1 prior to the series 2 premiere in 2014. At this point, there is not a definite date set for a UK premiere, most likely on BBC Three, but be on the lookout…