‘Orphan Black’ Star Tatiana Maslany Teases Cosima And Delphine’s Struggle In ‘Next Chapter’

“Orphan Black” is back, but it isn’t in the format of a typical Season 6. The BBC America drama about clones is returning in the form of an audiobook. Star Tatiana Maslany narrates “Orphan Black: The Next Chapter” on Serial Box, and the Emmy winner told International Business Times that audiences can expect to catch up with their favorite characters, like Cosima and Delphine, throughout the 10-episode season.

“I was really excited because the storylines that they pitched me sounded really great and really within the world of the show and kind of a nice extension of what we made with the show,” Maslany told IBT and a small group of reporters. “And also I knew that the fans were still very loyal to us, and I thought that should be a really nice way to give them some more story to follow and more content.”

The story, which will be available to read or listen to in weekly installments, picks up about a decade after the show ended. Vivi Valdez is a new clone, one that wasn’t on Rachel’s Leda List. Her world is turned upside down when she discovers that she’s one of the sisters, and clones like Cosima, Sarah and Alison have to figure out why she was kept secret. Maslany revealed that Vivi isn’t the only new “Orphan Black” clone.

“There’s quite a few that we get in the first episode and one of them is Vivi Valdez, who is a kind of interesting character who had, as a kid, experiences with other kids who looked identical to her,” the actress teased. “And those experiences have been re-formatted by her family and therapists to be imaginary friends. And so when she starts to become more self-aware of the clones and realizes that there are women out there who look identical to her, she starts to rethink that belief system that she grew up with.”

While there will be plenty of new characters, there will many familiar ones too. Audiences will get to hear about Kira and Charlotte as teenagers. They’ll also learn about Cosima and Delphine’s (AKA Cophine) relationship. The scientists are still together, but it sounds like they might have some struggles ahead.

“They’re together, and they are contending with all the things that that means, being in a longterm loving relationship with a fellow scientist,” Maslany explained. “One of you who is free to be public about her work, and the other who is sort relegated to staying more in the background, and how that creates conflict, which is a really interesting and relatable dynamic.”

The relationship will also sound a little different. Maslany is narrating the entire story, so don’t expect to hear Évelyne Brochu as Delphine or Kristian Bruun as Donny. The Canadian actress, who played over a dozen clones during the five seasons of the TV show, acknowledged that while the Clone Club is likely a little upset about the lack of supporting actors, it’s also fun for her to take on the other characters.

“It’s going to be so disappointing for people that Kristian or Evelyn aren't back in the series, but it's been really fun to watch those performances and do my own version of them, and see what they were doing vocally and all of that. And you know, doing a really bad impression of Kristian Bruun is a fun thing to do,” she added.

“Orphan Black: The Next Chapter” premieres on Serial Box on Thursday. New episodes will be released weekly through episode 5. “The Next Chapter” will have a midseason hiatus before returning for the second half of the season.

Episodes can be bought through the SerialBox apps (available on Google Play or the Apple App Store). Individual episodes will be available for purchase, but the cheapest price is for the early season pass. The full season will be available for $9.99 through Sept. 19. It goes up to $12.99 after that.