'Orange Is the New Black' star Danielle Brooks says season 3 is 'about faith'

When Orange is the New Black returns in June, it’ll be about faith, Danielle Brooks—a.k.a. Taystee—told EW Thursday. That explains the latest poster for the prison dramedy’s third season, which featured Piper, Red, Crazy Eyes, Alex, and Daya on saint candles.

But “faith” isn’t just about being saintly or spiritual, Brooks said, adding that show creator Jenji Kohan told her the season’s theme would center on a broad meaning of the word.

“Throughout season 1 to season 3, these are women that are all about survival. So survival has to be connected to faith,” she explained. “And regardless of if that faith is spiritual or if you’re finding faith in another human being, or even having to reach deep inside yourself to find that faith, all of us are searching for something to believe in and to get through our fights and our struggles in prison.”

On top of that, Brooks’ costars Laverne Cox and Selenis Leyva teased that the third season would play up new relationships between the ladies of Litchfield—as well as deeper looks into their backstories. Or, as Leyva put it, their characters “are definitely going to show a side of women behind bars that we haven’t seen yet on the show.”

“The third season is my favorite of all the three seasons to shoot,” Cox added. “I got to do some stuff that I’ve never gotten to do before that I’ve always wanted to do on camera. The stories just hit me in my gut, every single one.”

Orange Is the New Black premieres June 12 on Netflix.

—Reporting by Mariah Haas