Cara Howe / Netflix

“The endgame is there. As of now, season seven is our last season.”

Orange is the New Black star Laura Prepon has revealed that the show may end with season seven.

Prepon – who currently stars as Alex Vause on the acclaimed comedy/drama – told The Hollywood Reporter: “The endgame is there. As of now, season seven is our last season. So, the endgame is clear.

“But the reason that it bums me out, obviously, is because I love working with Taylor. She and I love working together. We’ve been working together for six, seven years now and she’s a wonderful scene partner.

“We were just together the other day and she was saying, ‘This sucks. I’m out of prison. When am I going to do scenes with you!’”

The American actress added: “Seven years is a long time, especially now. For a show to run this long is rare with all the different streamers and shows pulling the audience in all different directions (…) so to be on [a] show that has made that kind of tread of seven years is incredible.

“Will it be sad? Of course. But we have to look at how fortunate it was for us to be a part of, because this show really was lightning in a bottle. It’s the first time anything like it was made.

“Sometimes you get these shows and they are lightning in a bottle and they’re so fantastic, and you just hang on and go for the ride. You just live it and be it, and it’s an incredible experience.

“I don’t know if I can say that I’m prepared for the end, but I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know that there’s always going to be more after that. It will just be different. Orange is its own special thing, and I’m so happy that I get to be a part of it.”

Last week, Taylor Schilling suggested that she’s “ready to say goodbye” to the show.

“It certainly is an end of an era. Orange has been such a huge chapter in my life, personally and professionally,” she said.

“I’m so grateful to have been able to play this part of Piper. I’m excited to let Piper go and put her to rest beautifully, as I’m sure Jenji will do, and let her kind of live on in her own world, when that time comes.”

Orange is the New Black’s sixth season received highly positive reviews from critics, with many noting it as an improvement upon its predecessor.

However, the show hasn’t been renewed past a seventh season, so fans have come to the conclusion that it will indeed be its last.

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