Orphan Black

Orphan Black
Episodes:	50
Year:	2013-2017
Country:	Canada
Seasons:	5
Seasons Breakdown:	(1) 10, (2) 10, (3) 10, (4) 10, (5) 10
Category:	Clones
Colour:	Yes
Format:	Series
Company:	Temple Street Productions, BBC America and Bell Media
Creator:	Graeme Manson and John Fawcett
Run Time (mins):	43
Language:	English
Type of Show:	Live Action
Status:	Ended
Broadcaster:	Space
First Aired:	March 30, 2013
Last Aired:	August 12, 2017

Summary

The series follows Sarah Manning, a British‑born con artist living in Toronto, who becomes involved in a clandestine scientific conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of Beth Childs, her exact double. By assuming Beth’s identity within the Toronto Police Service, Sarah uncovers that she is one of numerous clones created through an illegal human‑cloning programme, several of whom are being targeted for assassination.

With assistance from her foster brother Felix Dawkins and fellow clones Alison Hendrix and Cosima Niehaus, Sarah traces the origins of the cloning project to Neolution, a movement advocating directed human evolution. Neolution operates through the Dyad Institute, a powerful biotechnology corporation led publicly by Dr. Aldous Leekie and supported internally by the clone Rachel Duncan. Dyad conducts research, exerts political influence, and monitors clones through embedded handlers to maintain control over its proprietary genetic technology.

Sarah becomes a target of both law‑enforcement authorities and the Proletheans, a religious group that regards cloning as heretical. A militant Prolethean faction employs Helena, Sarah’s biological twin, to kill other clones. Helena and Sarah share both genetic identity and a surrogate birth mother.

The discovery that Sarah has a daughter, Kira, the only known child born to a clone, intensifies the conflict. The series’ central plotlines follow Sarah and Kira’s attempts to evade Dyad and Prolethean capture, alongside the individual struggles of each clone to understand her origins and assert autonomy.

Two major themes structure the narrative: the political and scientific effort to control human reproduction, and the competing agendas of Dyad, the Proletheans, and the earlier architects of Project LEDA. These themes converge in Sarah’s defence of the parent‑child bond against organisations seeking to regulate or exploit human life.

Cast

Sarah Manning / Alison Hendrix / Cosima Niehaus / Helena / Rachel Duncan TATIANA MASLANY, Paul Dierden DYLAN BRUCE, Felix "Fee" Dawkins JORDAN GAVARIS, Art Bell KEVIN HANCHARD, Vic Schmidt MICHAEL MANDO (1), Siobhan Sadler MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY, Delphine Cormier EVELYNE BROCHU (2-3), Mark Rollins ARI MILLEN (3-5), Donnie Hendrix KRISTIAN BRUUN (3-5), Scott Smith JOSH VOKEY (4-5)