Who Does Prison Dramas Better: America or Australia?
I'm a big fan of Wentworth and Orange Is The New Black, although I'm sure that few of you have heard me mention the former before, let alone seen or heard of it. So I'll provide a little background for you.
What is Wentworth?
Wentworth is a modern re-imagining (as so many things today are) of an old Australian prison drama, a little uncreatively named Prisoner. Conceived as a 16-part series, Prisoner then spanned 692 episodes and 8 seasons from 1979-1986. Yes, you read correctly. 692 41-49 minute episodes inside 7 years. And to think Michael Emerson (Person of Interest, Lost) used to whine about doing 22 a year!
The simple aim of Prisoner was to show the lives of women inside a women only prison, and I'll have to take Wikipedia's word for it that some of its themes included "feminism, homosexuality and social reform".
Wentworth is definitely doing its best to hold true to its roots. As far as I can see most if not all its characters have been recycled from Prisoner, and a lot of the storylines seem to be fairly similar, although adapted to fit prison life thirty years later.
Since the shows are extremely similar, are both huge hits in their respective countries (although OITNB has a bigger worldwide interest), are both at a similar stage in their lives (both are in their fourth seasons; OITNB has been renewed through s7, and Wentworth, which will continue in a more traditional renewal pattern, has been renewed for s5) and both hold a strong core cast of multi-faceted females, I think it would be good to pit them head to head and see which show really should be able to claim bragging rights.
1. Episodes
In terms of episodes per season, the shows are largely similar. OITNB will have aired 52 episodes when season 4 concludes while Wentworth will have aired 46 (10 episodes for season 1 and 12 each season after that).
You get even more OITNB for your money when you consider each episode hovers between 55-65 minutes in length (and has generated a 90-min finale from season 2 onwards), while Wentworth is only slightly longer than US broadcast shows at 43-46 minutes.
But that extra episode length is crucial. OITNB has 20 minutes more per episode than Wentworth to focus on its large ensemble cast, but equally it has another 20 minutes to fill, which considerably affects its ability to raise the stakes for its characters and means it bounces through a lot more storylines without a considerable focus (although it does allow some of that time regularly for character flashbacks).
Contrastingly, Wentworth sticks to the traditional broadcast TV length and, rather than saying Wentworth feels comparatively condensed, OITNB actually feels thus drawn-out.
It depends on if you prefer 45 or 60 minute TV shows, but for me, I've got to give this one to Wentworth for being able to utilise its time better.
Wentworth 1 - 0 OITNB
2. Plot pacing
This isn't an OITNB or Wentworth-specific point, but it does affect the rating here. Because directly affected by the length of an episode is the pacing of the storylines included. The typical 40-45 minute broadcast TV method works much better. Commercial breaks knock 15-20mins off a network show's air time and force writers to knuckle down and chop and change anything that isn't directly relevant to the stories they're trying to tell. However, when you release your show online and have nothing to hinder your writing, you create the pro of being able to tell more complex stories, but the cons of diluting any tension you may build by having to find 20 minutes more of story the next time out.
With an hour to kill and a huge ensemble cast of main and recurring characters, OITNB has become comfortable following the same series pacing: slow build-up to an explosion at the end, which never feels quite like a climax (especially recently) because the finales get drawn out to feature-film length. In comparison, Wentworth's position as a broadcast show means it is able to be more concise and focus itself more practically.
Some people may like the 60 minute method better, but to me it's not as effective a writing tool, and especially not in a prison show that cannot break out of its light-heartedness as a result.
Wentworth 2 - 0 OITNB
3. Pace of release
OITNB is not directly at fault for either of these last two categories - it's the executive producers and Netflix that have made these pacing choices, and the writers and actors are just doing their jobs - but at the end of the day, when combined, releasing 13 episodes of an hour-long show troubles a show's brilliance.
We saw the downsides of a similar method earlier this year, when Person of Interest's final season aired 13 episodes inside 8 weeks. The show was pacey enough to work with that speed of release, but glorious moments like the scene where the whole team gathered under the Queensboro Bridge in preparation for their big battle at the end were snuffed out because tragic events unfolded in the next day's episode.
The point is that airing shows at lightspeed, or all at once, means there is no time to enjoy or savour what you watch. It's hard to resist just jumping right into the next episode, and the power to do that unfortunately dilutes whatever tension or happiness you build in your show. Whereas, a weekly release, at least for me, is a much more preferable way of watching a show.
Wentworth 3 - 0 OITNB
We saw the downsides of a similar method earlier this year, when Person of Interest's final season aired 13 episodes inside 8 weeks. The show was pacey enough to work with that speed of release, but glorious moments like the scene where the whole team gathered under the Queensboro Bridge in preparation for their big battle at the end were snuffed out because tragic events unfolded in the next day's episode.
The point is that airing shows at lightspeed, or all at once, means there is no time to enjoy or savour what you watch. It's hard to resist just jumping right into the next episode, and the power to do that unfortunately dilutes whatever tension or happiness you build in your show. Whereas, a weekly release, at least for me, is a much more preferable way of watching a show.
Wentworth 3 - 0 OITNB
4. Characters
It's not hard to pick a winner for this category, because OITNB takes this one hands down. Matching with its longer episode lengths, its cast list is just bigger and, although the first season kept the spotlight mostly on its main female lead, Piper, later seasons have seen the cast grow almost to the point the show can't handle it. A rich, racially diverse cast make up that ballooning ensemble, and we have a variety of white, black and Latina characters populating the prison dorms and the guards' ranks. But OITNB is also very religiously diverse as well, and includes characters of Christian, Jewish and Muslim persuasions.
Cliques throughout the different groups were evident from the beginning of the show, but in the fourth season OITNB managed to really expand on its previous glances at heightening racial tension. The show's characters are relevant and contemporary and the prejudices are just as believable, which makes the characters so much more realistic, relatable and multi-faceted.
In comparison, Wentworth is much more pedestrian. That's not a criticism of Wentworth at all, since OITNB was deliberately set up to focus on the aforementioned societal issues whereas Wentworth wasn't, but when compared we see the difference more clearly. Wentworth has one aboriginal characters in prisoner Doreen and guard Will Jackson is played by a Samoan New Zealander, but that's the extent of its racial diversity. I don't want to speak heavily on this since I don't know enough about Australia's demographics to comment on whether that ratio is representative or not, but while it's characters are all excellent and interesting, OITNB's wider focus means it has a much more thorough ensemble to utilise.
Wentworth 3 - 1 OITNB
Cliques throughout the different groups were evident from the beginning of the show, but in the fourth season OITNB managed to really expand on its previous glances at heightening racial tension. The show's characters are relevant and contemporary and the prejudices are just as believable, which makes the characters so much more realistic, relatable and multi-faceted.
In comparison, Wentworth is much more pedestrian. That's not a criticism of Wentworth at all, since OITNB was deliberately set up to focus on the aforementioned societal issues whereas Wentworth wasn't, but when compared we see the difference more clearly. Wentworth has one aboriginal characters in prisoner Doreen and guard Will Jackson is played by a Samoan New Zealander, but that's the extent of its racial diversity. I don't want to speak heavily on this since I don't know enough about Australia's demographics to comment on whether that ratio is representative or not, but while it's characters are all excellent and interesting, OITNB's wider focus means it has a much more thorough ensemble to utilise.
Wentworth 3 - 1 OITNB
5. Top dogs
Interestingly, OITNB and Wentworth's later seasons have paralleled. In OITNB, the narrower character spectrum meant the biggest top dog was probably Red, the elderly Ukrainian lady who runs the kitchen, whereas in season 1 of Wentworth, mob wife Jacs Holt runs the prison and contends with Franky Doyle nibbling at her heels.
In season 2, OITNB introduces Vee as a way to create havoc in the prison, and I don't really have a good word to say about Vee's character. She personified an increasingly dull trope. Whereas Wentworth dealt with the aftermath of Jacs' murder and Franky's rise to the top dog position.
It's really from season 3 that the two shows parallel. After Piper creates an illegal prison used panty business, she becomes something like a top dog as many of the characters who work for her realise how much they desperately need their job. And in season 3, after Bea returns to Wentworth Prison following the murder of Jacs' son in retaliation for her daughter's overdose, Franky steps aside and Bea takes over as top dog.
In season 4, things go wrong. Piper gets a rival in the form of a second used panty business set up by the Latinas, and slowly loses her power and, after a vicious attack, her confidence. She decides the top dog life is not for her and pretty much gives it up. In Wentworth, Bea suffers an uprising of a similar sort: feminist extremist group Red Right Hand's leader Kaz Proctor is now imprisoned with Bea and the prison's corrupt ex-Governor and now inmate Joan Ferguson subtly coerces Kaz into a mutually beneficial alliance against Bea. Bea begins to lose her grip on the prison and eventually realises it isn't worth the hassle.
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| Piper Chapman, OITNB |
It's really from season 3 that the two shows parallel. After Piper creates an illegal prison used panty business, she becomes something like a top dog as many of the characters who work for her realise how much they desperately need their job. And in season 3, after Bea returns to Wentworth Prison following the murder of Jacs' son in retaliation for her daughter's overdose, Franky steps aside and Bea takes over as top dog.
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| Bea Smith, Wentworth |
So which one is better? I'd have to say Bea, of Wentworth, makes the better top dog. Unlike Piper, she is a much more ruthless and capable leader, and is someone who was really feared throughout the prison, whereas Piper's weak control rested solely on her guile as a business founder, not any particular affinity for violence or power.
Wentworth 4 - 1 OITNB
6. Top dogs' lapdogs
Every top dog needs a sidekick to do their dirty work. Piper Chapman and Bea Smith are no exceptions. Bea has had unwavering, solid and stoic support from Maxine Conway since Maxine's introduction in season 2, and it's no surprise she becomes Bea's staunchest defender when she rises to the top in season 3, and remains at Bea's side even when she begins to lose power to Kaz. Piper, comparatively, has ... somebody who's name I do not know and who served as a minor character whenever she was needed, and who never really had any loyalty to Piper - even going as far as to turn her over to the Latinas.
Even if Maxine, who we will discuss in the next category, wasn't awesome enough already, she takes the win here for Wentworth simply because Piper's lapdog was so irrelevant I have no idea if she was even named.
Wentworth 5 - 1 OITNB
Even if Maxine, who we will discuss in the next category, wasn't awesome enough already, she takes the win here for Wentworth simply because Piper's lapdog was so irrelevant I have no idea if she was even named.
Wentworth 5 - 1 OITNB
6. Transgender prisoners
In a day and age where transgender prejudice is so rife, we get horrifically honest depictions of maltreatment in Wentworth and OITNB. The former has Maxine Conway and the latter Sophia Burset. Based principally on airtime and usage, Maxine is the more interesting character, but even though prejudice against her remains it's relatively uncommon for it to present an issue. Few would be stupid enough to go after the top dog's right hand woman, after all.
But Sophia is no one's bloodhound. She's simply another woman trying to survive the hells of prison, and her transgender status means she struggles to fit in. As a result, she's a floater. She has allies and friends, of course, but Sophia is under the microscope much more because of her status than Maxine. And that's why, while I prefer Maxine as a character, I'd have to say OITNB's spotlight is more sustained and thorough.
Wentworth 5 - 2 OITNB
But Sophia is no one's bloodhound. She's simply another woman trying to survive the hells of prison, and her transgender status means she struggles to fit in. As a result, she's a floater. She has allies and friends, of course, but Sophia is under the microscope much more because of her status than Maxine. And that's why, while I prefer Maxine as a character, I'd have to say OITNB's spotlight is more sustained and thorough.
Wentworth 5 - 2 OITNB
8. Corrupt staff
No prison drama would be complete without its fair share of corrupt staff. And there's always a figurehead among them. For OITNB, the first season's big bad was George "Pornstache" Mendez, an absolutely ruthless guard who ran drugs, threatened everyone, raped prisoners and even killed an inmate. It's only real other contender is Humphrey "Humps" from season 4, but because the cast list is so huge he's barely around long enough to have a real impact. Instead, his status as a maniacal tormentor is just described by the inmates.
Wentworth has a Humps-like character itself, in Linda "Smiles" Miles, in that she never extends past a minor baddie. She gets involved in the drug running a little, but by-the-by she's a baddie simply for turning a blind eye to the nasty stuff whenever she can. She doesn't really do much. The next level up is Jake Stewart. Introduced in season 4 with secret gambling debts, he was manipulated by ex-Governor Joan "The Freak" Ferguson to run drugs, frame one of the guards for corruption and kill the star witness in her trial. And the big bad herself was Joan Ferguson. Now set to be an inmate forever after the season 4 finale, The Freak ran Wentworth from seasons 2 to 3. She was bonkers crazy but superb at hiding it (she used to visit a dojo where she would see visions of her instructor), and during her tenure she manipulated staff and prisoners, she ran drugs, she tortured people and killed an inmate.
Wentworth 6 - 2 OITNB
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| Pornstache, OITNB |
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| Joan "The Freak" Ferguson, Wentworth |
Wentworth 6 - 2 OITNB
9. Lesbian relationships
Love is in the air, even in prison. And the majority of them take place between the female inmates. In OITNB, we have a whole host of lesbian or bisexual characters: Piper and Alex, who are an on-off hate-love relationship, Nicky, Morello, Poussey, Brook, Stella. The lesbian or bisexual characters encapsulate a large number of the cast, are regular focuses of plotlines and make and break alliances. Nicky and Morello may once have been an item, but Nicky's fine with getting busy with Alex, who's had fun with Piper over the years, while Piper gets lovey-dovey in season 3 with Stella. Poussey and Brook are a more stable relationship, and are a better exploration of the nuances of love and sexuality than perhaps the other characters, who are all comfortable in their sexualities.
In Wentworth, the main lesbian characters are Franky, Juice and Allie. Franky has a girlfriend Kim but fancies the governor in season 1, Erica; in season 3 and 4 she dates the prison psych Libby. Juice is a vicious woman who will molest anyone in the prison for her personal gain - even at one point manipulating Franky for sex. Allie was introduced in season 4 as the right hand woman to Kaz Proctor, and begins a slow relationship with top dog Bea. Now I don't want to be controversial and say this was a bad storyline, but I didn't feel this relationship was true to Bea's character - although it was tremendously well-written and beautiful to watch.
I'm going to give this one to OITNB, once again because it tries to delve into meaning and message more so than Wentworth, which straight up entertains.
Wentworth 6 - 3 OITNB
In Wentworth, the main lesbian characters are Franky, Juice and Allie. Franky has a girlfriend Kim but fancies the governor in season 1, Erica; in season 3 and 4 she dates the prison psych Libby. Juice is a vicious woman who will molest anyone in the prison for her personal gain - even at one point manipulating Franky for sex. Allie was introduced in season 4 as the right hand woman to Kaz Proctor, and begins a slow relationship with top dog Bea. Now I don't want to be controversial and say this was a bad storyline, but I didn't feel this relationship was true to Bea's character - although it was tremendously well-written and beautiful to watch.
I'm going to give this one to OITNB, once again because it tries to delve into meaning and message more so than Wentworth, which straight up entertains.
Wentworth 6 - 3 OITNB
10. Storylines
This is a hard one to cover because I obviously cannot list every plotline each show has done, but it's probably the most important one. Relationships (Platonic and sexual) are key, both between the prisoners and the staff, and standout examples are Bea and Franky's rivalry and later deep friendship in Wentworth and Piper and Alex's relationship in OITNB.
Wentworth has also included plotlines centred around hepatitis C (which season 4's governor Vera Bennett contracts in a prison riot), feminist extremism, the growth of Vera herself from mouse to cat, The Freak's plentiful manipulations which normally involve elaborate and twisted plots to kill Bea and destroy guard Will Jackson (and the subsequent investigations and retaliations both from prisoners and guards), Bea's rivalry with Jacs in season one leading to Jacs' son giving Bea's daughter a fatal drug OD in season two, Maxine's breast cancer in season 4, drug running, alcoholism, prison birth and conjugal visits among plenty of others.
Some of those (alcoholism, prison birth, drug running) parallel in OITNB, but other plotlines include the long-running prison privatisation arc, the used panty business, a prisoner with a terminal illness, racial inequality, maximum security, prison work details, religion and rape.
OITNB acts as a spotlight, and uses its plots as a way of spreading a message about the harsh truths of prison; Wentworth just knuckles down and writes great, tense TV.
Wentworth 7 - 3 OITNB
Wentworth has also included plotlines centred around hepatitis C (which season 4's governor Vera Bennett contracts in a prison riot), feminist extremism, the growth of Vera herself from mouse to cat, The Freak's plentiful manipulations which normally involve elaborate and twisted plots to kill Bea and destroy guard Will Jackson (and the subsequent investigations and retaliations both from prisoners and guards), Bea's rivalry with Jacs in season one leading to Jacs' son giving Bea's daughter a fatal drug OD in season two, Maxine's breast cancer in season 4, drug running, alcoholism, prison birth and conjugal visits among plenty of others.
Some of those (alcoholism, prison birth, drug running) parallel in OITNB, but other plotlines include the long-running prison privatisation arc, the used panty business, a prisoner with a terminal illness, racial inequality, maximum security, prison work details, religion and rape.
OITNB acts as a spotlight, and uses its plots as a way of spreading a message about the harsh truths of prison; Wentworth just knuckles down and writes great, tense TV.
Wentworth 7 - 3 OITNB
Oh, and bonus half-point to Wentworth for the lovely Australian accents.
TOTAL - Wentworth 7.5 - 3 OITNB
Given the massive fanbase OITNB has, Wentworth may not be getting the attention it deserves. I hope I've attracted some of you to give it a go, but just in case (and out of pure bias) I'll leave links to a few "Why Wentworth Is Better" articles here, where other humans will give their more concise roundups on the two shows.
http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/22/10-reasons-wentworth-prison-is-better-than-orange-is-the-new-black-5307336/
http://www.btchflcks.com/2013/09/wentworth-makes-orange-is-the-new-black-look-like-a-middle-school-melodrama.html#.V7gugvkrLIU
(Some minor spoilers throughout those articles)
http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/22/10-reasons-wentworth-prison-is-better-than-orange-is-the-new-black-5307336/
http://www.btchflcks.com/2013/09/wentworth-makes-orange-is-the-new-black-look-like-a-middle-school-melodrama.html#.V7gugvkrLIU
(Some minor spoilers throughout those articles)
Final thoughts
But in truth, you don't need to take any of what I've said above too seriously: this is just my take on the two shows. You may have watched both, you may have seen one and not the other, you may completely agree with me or only partly agree, but this is all just my view.
The easiest way to describe them is by summarising OITNB as a show that tries to be a spotlight for real-world issues, while Wentworth just knuckles down and tells a good prison story. Maybe you want a show to ask things of you and make you think, in which case I recommend OITNB. Maybe you just want to watch a show that will give you hypertension at every turn, in which case Wentworth is the better bet.
Either way, I hope you've enjoyed this, thank you all for reading and I'll see you all next time!
The easiest way to describe them is by summarising OITNB as a show that tries to be a spotlight for real-world issues, while Wentworth just knuckles down and tells a good prison story. Maybe you want a show to ask things of you and make you think, in which case I recommend OITNB. Maybe you just want to watch a show that will give you hypertension at every turn, in which case Wentworth is the better bet.
Either way, I hope you've enjoyed this, thank you all for reading and I'll see you all next time!
Sam
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