Everything the Cast of Orange Is the New Black Has Said About Season 4

Nicky (Lyonne) is sent to maximum security prison in the third season, and what becomes of her is still a giant question mark. However, Lyonne has been doing press for season four, which means it's likely Nicky will reemerge. "Major events happen like Max or something and we don't know [what's going to happen], but you go along for the ride because of the trust," Lyonne said during the show's panel at PaleyFest in May. "So much of the brilliance of the show is sort of plucking us at exactly a certain moment to play well together and to be comfortable of the unknown."

When we chatted with Schilling about the upcoming season, she wouldn't confirm exactly what is happening with Piper in that violent scene in the trailer, but she did give us some small details about Piper's evolution: "Piper's outsides are becoming less and less important. She's kind of moving further and further away from the idea of what she thought she was. She's becoming more practical. She's becoming a creature of the prison, and there's no space for excess. Her only need is for survival, and brushing her hair doesn't really factor into the equation."

Schilling also teased Piper's upcoming arc during PaleyFest, saying, "She's becoming a little bit of a kingpin and has this swagger, but the feeling I always have about Piper Chapman is that she tries on everything like a piece of clothing — she doesn't quite fit the jacket, but she tries it on. And I love that about her."

Judy (Brown) is the new gal on the (cell)block, having surrendered herself into Litchfield at the end of season three. In an interview with TV Guide, Brown revealed quite a bit about her character in the upcoming season: "She's slightly appalling and very good and very cheerful and probably fairly amoral, and it's interesting to watch because she's so other than anybody else in prison. And of course, Judy's greatest ally when she comes in is Poussey Washington."

Cox spoke about Sophia's rough fourth season during the show's panel at the Winter Television Critics Association in January: "It was a joy to play and I felt like I was pushed in ways that I didn't anticipate and it was really challenging and that is always wonderful as an actress." You might be better off getting an idea of what's in store for Sophia by looking at the season four pictures and trailer.

Kohan also spoke during the show's Winter TCA panel, revealing some very small tidbits about what to expect: "The theme thing was hard this year. Sometimes we start with political agendas, the corporatization of the prison, the stratification of the people into their little mosaic pieces within the prison. I can't tell you much more than that because we want it to be a surprise but all the fun stuff like race and hate and some things from current events that we want to sort of filter through our lens. But I'm just going to be vague about it."

Back in January, Wiley told AfterEllen that Poussey and Soso will get some screen time together, though we don't know if their friendship is really budding into something more. She also confirmed that the new season, which she calls "very different," picks up right where season three ends: "We've got just busloads of new inmates being bussed into the prison. There's just bunch of new characters and a bunch of new bodies — just bodies everywhere. It sort of starts there and keeps going. What can you imagine happens when you have all of these people in a small space? You've already got, you know, people in the prison."

We're dying to know what happens to Alex after season three's giant cliffhanger. "What's cool is season four actually picks up right where season three left off," Prepon told Entertainment Weekly in January. "So it's literally, it continues five seconds later, which is really great because at the end of last season . . . I was in the greenhouse, and there was all this craziness going on and it's awesome." Prepon also confirmed that we'll see more backstories on the new season, and delved a little bit into the future of Alex and Piper's relationship: "They love each other and they hate each other, and it's frustrating and passionate, but there's definitely some vindication there, for sure. Piper thought she was crazy all season, but she wasn't."