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'Orphan Black': Here's what to expect from the new season

'Black' stars Tatiana Maslany as multiple characters who are all caught in a strange conspiracy. The show airs on BBC America in the US.

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Fred Thornhill/Reuters
Tatiana Maslany holds her award for best actress in a TV drama for her role in 'Orphan Black' backstage at the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards.

For those of you who have gotten hooked on the story of a group of clones (all played by Tatiana Maslany), the wait is almost over. 

The third season of “Orphan Black” premieres on BBC America on April 18 and returns to the tale of Sarah and the various clones that resemble her. After Sarah sees Beth Childs, a woman who looks just like her, commit suicide, she pretends to be Beth and takes on the woman’s work as a police detective. She discovers that there are various clones in different countries and that they are in danger. 

The show is Canadian and co-stars Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Skyler Wexler, and Dylan Bruce, among others. It debuted in 2013 and the first two seasons ran for 10 episodes. 

Among other critical praise, so many fans hoped that Maslany would receive a Best Actress in a Drama nod at this past year’s Emmys. The fact that she was snubbed prompted multiple articles about her omission, and the actress was asked about the lack of a nod at Comic-Con, according to the Associated Press. “’Orphan Black’ is… excellent… totally in a category of its own when it comes to serial mysteries,” Washington Post writer Emily Yahr wrote in an article about Maslany’s lack of a nomination. “Maslany is in another league.” For her part, Maslany said at this past summer’s Comic-Con, “We're at a point where television is extremely exciting,” according to the AP. “I just feel really lucky to be at this point in television history making a show like this.”

So what can fans expect for the new season? “Orphan Black” co-creator John Fawcett recently told Entertainment Weekly that the third season “is deepening the mystery.” 

“Certainly it’s solving big clues to outstanding mysteries,” he said. “We get a lot of answers this season. But the show goes in a very different direction than it has previously, and by the end of season 3 we end in a place that we’re all really excited about. We have a very, very big ending to this season, so we’re excited about that. A lot of answers. And a lot of new questions.”

(Spoilers for previous episodes follow…)

Fawcett added, “I think it’s no surprise that we are dealing with male clones this year, so by its very nature that’s a very new angle for us. There’s a kind of military angle to season 3 and so that’s exciting.”

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