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Orphan Black

2013 Canadian science fiction thriller television series

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ7103920 ↗
Source-derived summary

Orphan Black is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical human clones, and later on some of the other clones. The series raises issues about the moral and ethical implications of human cloning and its effect on identity.

The series was produced by Temple Street Productions in association with BBC America and Bell Media's Space. The show premiered on March 30, 2013, on Space in Canada, and on BBC America in the United States. On June 16, 2016, the series was renewed for a fifth and final ten-episode season, which ran from June 10 to August 12, 2017. An aftershow, After the Black, began airing in the third season on Space and was acquired by BBC America for the fourth season. In April 2022, a spin-off titled Orphan Black: Echoes was announced, which premiered in June 2024 on AMC. An Orphan Black comic book series was started in 2015 but was cancelled in 2018 before the end of its contract.

Orphan Black developed a loyal online fan base across social media platforms who identify as #CloneClub, a reference to those who are in-the-know in the story. Throughout its run, the series received critical acclaim and various accolades, particularly for Maslany's performances, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards and two further nominations, one TCA Award and one further nomination, two Satellite Award nominations, and a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Orphan Black” as 2013 Canadian science fiction thriller television series. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2013, 2016, 2017, 2022—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Orphan, Black and Canadian can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2013 Canadian science fiction thriller television series. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7103920. VIAF identifies the subject as 306391901. The Library of Congress control number is no2014024708. None of the 3 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2022.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Orphan Black”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Orphan Black primary sources, Orphan Black archive and Orphan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Orphan Black”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Orphan Black” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.