Fans have long noted a string of very odd similarities between hit Aussie drama Wentworth and US Netflix show Orange Is The New Black – and not just because both are set in women’s prisons.
WATCH: Orange Is The New Black seventh and final season trailer
Now Wentworth star Celia Ireland has thrown fuel on the fire by suggesting the American show may have ripped off her character Bea’s big plot line.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Ireland noted that her character’s battle with early onset dementia was startlingly similar to a new plot on OITNB, which has seen the character of Red, played by former Star Trek: Voyager actress Kate Mulgrew, developing the exact same condition.
‘It’s very interesting, because that storyline for my character was on air very early last year, very early in season six Liz is diagnosed with early onset dementia,’ Celia told the paper.
‘Who knows if there’s a little bit of copycatting going on, but it’s a very interesting storyline.’
It’s certainly not the first time that strange similarities have been noted. Many Wentworth fans bristled when Aussie Ruby Rose was somewhat bizarrely cast as an American prison inmate – just as Wentworth star Nicole da Silva was breaking out as a cult star in the US for her portrayal of the similarly sexy, brunette tattooed Aussie lesbian Franky Doyle.
The strange coincidences of several similar plots have been the subject of much discussion online. One Reddit user noted of the two shows: ‘They both have mother and daughters (Dianara and her mum, Liz and her daughter), that one hot lesbian (Franky, Alex).
‘The main character that slowly rises to the top (Piper, Bea). They both had riots. They both have a character that falls in love with a guard. The list goes on.’
Another poster on the site catalogued a string of odd similarities that set off quite a fevered debate among fans.
‘ok seriously, whats with all the similarities between wentworth and OITNB?,’ asked another fan on Reddit.
‘Famous person going into prison (both manipulative and open up a new program)
‘Both have transgender characters
‘Main character is weak, slowly grows stronger
‘A riot (wentworth’s was only one episode though)
‘Both have a character who gets pregnant, not to mention their personalities are very similar.
‘Mom and daughter both in prison (Daya and Aleida, though Aleida did just get out)
‘They each have a very different tone that’s for sure, just curious.’
What do you think, coincidence or something more? One’s thing for sure though, both are great shows – and we can’t get enough!
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