Wentworth

Before you go any further: If you are squeamish in any way or don't enjoy shows with explicit themes, drug use or gore this is not the series for you.

Wentworth is an Australian television series, which takes place in a women’s correctional institute. Don’t be fooled this is not like “Orange is the new black” in any way, shape or form; if I could compare it to anything it would be HBO’s “OZ”. Your main protagonist is Bea Smith, who is being sent to Wentworth correctional for the attempted murder of her husband. She is a mother and victim of domestic abuse, which at first makes being inside hard on her but later on maternal instincts and a questionable conscience end up becoming some of her strongest traits later on in the series. Upon arriving she is put in a cellblock with “Franky” Doyle who is the undisputed “top-dog” of the prison and is the main source for drugs and contraband in or out of the prison. The other prisoners soon warn Bea that she should do anything and everything that Franky asks of her. She isn’t there long before being “asked” to do something, putting her in a compromising position. Until Bea follows through she is not allowed to eat or use the phones to call her daughter, which proves to be problematic and forces her to do things she wouldn’t normally. The main substance going around the prison at this time is Crystal Meth, which is supplied by Franky. Since no one will rat on her the Warden decides to let the old “top-dog” out of solitary; Jacquelyn Holt to create a power struggle and take them both down. This causes Bea to choose sides and make decisions which impact her life on the inside as well as people she cares about both in and outside of Wentworth.

 She may look like your average old lady but she happens to be married to one of the top crime bosses in all of Australia and is as cold-hearted and ruthless as they come. “Jacs” (as she is most commonly referred to) has a lot of pull and people willing to follow her command, her return also brings heroin back to Wentworth. Some guards even joke about how the heroin days were better because everyone would be strung out and less likely to cause trouble. The way that the show is filmed is very well thought out and the camera angles compliment what emotion each scene is trying to convey to the viewer. One interesting aspect of Wentworth was how each character’s backstory was revealed, sometimes presenting twists, which wouldn’t effect the current state of the prison but would make you rethink how certain people act or have acted throughout the series. As you can probably tell this series gets pretty intense and will at some points have you yelling and cheering to have one character stab the other in the jugular with pen or cut their throat with a razorblade. So like I said not something everyone might be interested in but I for one really enjoyed the series and am avidly anticipating season 3 to premiere on April 7th(2015). Wentworth was also recently confirmed for a 4^th season, likely to premiere in 2016.
 

-Jackson