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'Orphan Black': What you need to know to become part of the Clone Club


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I haven't seen it, but it sounds good:

So you missed out on the astonishing first season of "Orphan Black"? Don't beat yourself up.

After all, how could you have known that a trippy little under-the-radar clone-conspiracy drama, airing on Saturday of all nights, would be so mind-bendingly wild, weird and wonderful?

And, really, how could you have imagined that a virtually unknown 28-year-old bundle of human dynamite named Tatiana Maslany would pull off the equivalent of an acting Olympics by blowing through seven different roles with ardent, rock-your-world precision?

OK, so now you know. And now, there is no excuse to not be all over "Orphan Black" when it returns for a sophomore season that, if all goes well, could push this sci-fi series from the pop-cultural margins into the zeitgeist.

"Orphan Black" tells the story of Sarah Manning, a streetwise single mom who is horrified to learn that she is one of several clones (all played by Maslany) developed and monitored as part of some ominous top-secret science project. The show drew a lowly average of 661,000 viewers for its 10 Season 1 episodes, but they were a passionate bunch who took to social media to rave about how edgy, witty, unpredictable and enthralling the whole experience was.

Even after the season was over, the buzz continued, prompting 5.2 million people to see "Orphan Black" on demand.

Now comes Season 2, and Maslany promises that the story will deepen the characters and their worlds.

"We left them all at very tense, high-stakes places, so there was so much to work with," she says. "Now, it's about challenging them and stretching them to their limits. That's what keeps me obsessed with the show."

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