
Scripted series · BBC America
Orphan Black
She's been duped.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Orphan Black actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Orphan Black reads strongest on Character Depth, World Building and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 50 episodes.

Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20146 episodes

Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201310 episodes
7.5IMDbSarah is a streetwise outsider, currently on the run from a bad relationship and painfully separated from her own daughter. When an eerily lookalike stranger commits a shocking suicide right in front of her, Sarah sees a potential solution to all her problems by assuming the dead woman's identity and clearing out her bank account. But instead, she stumbles headlong into a kaleidoscopic thriller mystery, and soon uncovers an earth-shattering secret: she is a clone. As Sarah searches for answers, she soon learns there are more like her out there, genetically identical individuals, nurtured in wildly different circumstances. And someone is trying to kill them off, one by one.
Best episode · S01E10 Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
201410 episodes
7.3IMDbSarah is in a desperate race to find her missing daughter, but her scorched earth tactics spark a war with Rachel, dividing and imperiling all the clones. As Sarah discovers more about her past, mysterious newcomers appear, but can they be trusted?
Best episode · S02E10 By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried

Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201510 episodes
6.9IMDbSeason 3 plunges the clone sisterhood into unexpected territory with the realization that they're not alone. Just when they thought they knew their enemies and allies, season 3 reveals our clones are more vulnerable than ever before. Highly trained, identical male-soldiers raise more questions than answers. Who are these new clones? Who created them? And more importantly, why do they exist? Sarah, Cosima, Alison and Helena are stronger together than they are apart, but this season will put that bond to the test. Will they forge towards their truth, or fall at the feet of those who seek to control them?
Best episode · S03E09 Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow

Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
201610 episodes
7.5IMDbSeason 4 of the drama will see leader-of-the-pack, Sarah, reluctantly return home from her Icelandic hideout to track down an elusive and mysterious ally tied to the clone who started it all - Beth Childs. Sarah will follow Beth’s footsteps into a dangerous relationship with a potent new enemy, heading in a horrifying new direction. Under constant pressure to protect the sisterhood and keep everyone safe, Sarah's old habits begin to resurface. As the close-knit sisters are pulled in disparate directions, Sarah finds herself estranged from the loving relationships that changed her for the better.
Best episode · S04E06 The Scandal of Altruism

Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
201710 episodes
6.8IMDbThe fifth and final season brings Sarah and the sestras to their darkest days in an effort to finally cut off the head of the snake and win their freedom. Throughout the season, the sisters individually delve into their past to confront personal struggles and emerge stronger through these self-explorations. Despite the great risk to attain freedom for themselves, their families, and the host of clone sisters they’ve yet to meet, clone club uncovers the missing pieces of the insidious conspiracy and finally learn the story behind their origin.
Best episode · S05E08 Guillotines Decide
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S01E10
Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Sarah’s last chance to bring her nemesis back to sanity slips away as Art intervenes to get answers of his own. Meanwhile, the Orphans must decide whether to make peace with their creators, as Sarah is forced into a deadly confrontation with their enemy.
- Directed by John Fawcett
- Written by Graeme Manson

S02E10
By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried
The war with Dyad is all but lost when Rachel’s latest ploy forces a broken Sarah to concede. The Clone Club springs into action, uniting in a reckless gambit to save Sarah. As they fight to gain their freedom, Sarah encounters a new ally and uncovers a terrifying new dimension to the conspiracy.
- Directed by John Fawcett
- Written by Graeme Manson

S04E06
The Scandal of Altruism
When Cosima admits doubts about finding a cure in time to save her life, Sarah makes a lone decision that exposes Kendall to those she’s spent years hiding from. Meanwhile, Art and Felix team up to protect naïve clone, Krystal Godderitch, from herself.
- Directed by Grant Harvey
- Written by Chris Roberts

S01E06
Variations Under Domestication
Sarah’s hunt for answers is interrupted by a trip to the suburbs. Alison’s paranoia has boiled over, putting all the Orphans at risk. But when Sarah, Alison and Beth’s worlds dangerously collide, Sarah must decide who to trust with her secret.
- Directed by John Fawcett
- Written by Will Pascoe

S02E07
Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things
When a rehab confidante betrays Alison and threatens to expose the truth about Aynsley’s death, she goes into free fall on the eve of Family Day. With Donnie and the kids set to visit, it’s all clones on deck to contain the fallout.
- Directed by Ken Girotti
- Written by Aubrey Nealon

S04E05
Human Raw Material
Sarah’s day off to reconnect with Kira quickly turns into a sleuthing mission aimed squarely at discrediting Felix’s new ties. Cosima steps up with Donnie to further investigate the Neolutionist fertility research center. While Donnie bumps into an all too familiar face, Cosima makes a shocking discovery that leads her into a dangerous encounter.
- Directed by David Wellington
- Written by Kate Miles Melville
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S05E10
To Right the Wrongs of Many
- Directed by John Fawcett
- Written by Graeme Manson, Renée St. Cyr

S05E09
One Fettered Slave
- Directed by David Frazee
- Written by Alex Levine

S05E08
Guillotines Decide
- Directed by Aaron Morton
- Written by Graeme Manson, Aisha Porter-Christie

S05E07
Gag or Throttle
- Directed by David Frazee
- Written by Renée St. Cyr

S05E06
Manacled Slim Wrists
- Directed by Grant Harvey
- Written by David Bezmozgis

S05E05
Ease for Idle Millionaires
- Directed by Helen Shaver
- Written by Jenn Engels
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.

John Fawcett
Creator

Graeme Manson
Showrunner

Kerry Appleyard
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Ivan Schneeberg
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
David Fortier
Executive producer

David Bezmozgis
Writer

Greg Nelson
Writer

Karen Walton
Writer

Aubrey Nealon
Writer

Jenn Engels
Writer

Will Pascoe
Writer

Tony Elliott
Writer

Russ Cochrane
Writer

Renée St. Cyr
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Sherry White
Writer

Alex Levine
Writer

Jeremy Boxen
Writer

Chris Roberts
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Peter Mohan
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Nikolijne Troubetzkoy
Writer

Aisha Porter-Christie
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Kate Miles Melville
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- John FawcettExecutive Producer
- Aubrey NealonProducer
- Kerry AppleyardExecutive Producer
- Ivan SchneebergExecutive Producer
- Tatiana MaslanyProducer
- Graeme MansonExecutive Producer
Writing
- David BezmozgisWriter
- Greg NelsonWriter
- Karen WaltonWriter
- Aubrey NealonWriter
- Jenn EngelsWriter
- Will PascoeWriter
Direction
- David FrazeeDirector
- John FawcettDirector
- Helen ShaverDirector
- Grant HarveyDirector
- Peter StebbingsDirector
- Chris GrismerDirector
Cinematography
- David FrazeeDirector of Photography
- Aaron MortonDirector of Photography
- Michael MarshallDirector of Photography
Music
- Trevor YuileOriginal Music Composer
Recognition
Awards
3 wins
Critics' Choice Awards
1 win · latest 2013
- WinnerCritics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Actress2013
Orphan Black · Orphan Black
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
1 win · latest 2015
- WinnerHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form2015
Orphan Black · Orphan Black
TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama
1 win · latest 2013
- WinnerTCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama2013
Orphan Black · Orphan Black
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
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- PhiloStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- AMC Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- AMC+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- AMC+ Roku Premium ChannelStreaming
- AMC+Streaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- Spectrum On DemandStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
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