'Orange is the New Black' season 5 release date, plot spoilers: Michael Harney confirms Healy's return; Taystee continues recovery from Poussey's death

The fourth season of Netflix's famed original series "Orange is the New Black" had everyone talking because of a beloved character's death and a major cliffhanger in the finale. When season 5 airs next year, the story will delve deeper into the Litchfield inmates' backstories along with more drama inside the prison.

Poussey's (Samira Wiley) death came as a shock to everyone, and her best friend Taystee (Danielle Brooks) will still be reeling from her loss when the show continues. In an interview, Brooks revealed that her friendship with Wiley is similar to that of Taystee and Poussey's because they have known each other even before landing their respective roles in the series. 

" I don't know if many people know this: Samira and I went to Juilliard together," Brookes told E! News. "We've been friends since 2007." She also mentioned that she was the one who pushed Wiley to audition for the character of Poussey. 

Meanwhile, Sam Healy's (Michael Harney) arc became one of the most important highlights of the season because of how it shed light on the topic of mental illnesses. Season 4 left off with Sam committing himself to a mental institution after a failed suicide attempt. His friendship with Lolly brought a lot of his inner issues to surface and it might be the reason for his decision. Harney recently caught up with Yahoo! TV and he confirmed that Sam will be back in season 5.

The veteran actor also admitted being aware of fans wanting to see Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Sam back in each other's lives, but it might not be as easy as it seems. "We certainly had a huge following. People kept saying they were 'shipping' us. I didn't know what shipping meant," he laughs. "You know, the thing with Jenji and the writers is that they're true to what they're doing. They're not going to just do that, I don't think, because the fanbase is really wanting that. There might be something else that's even more powerful that will have a greater artistic value. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm really looking forward, actually at this point, I'm chomping at the bit, to find out where we're headed."

Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for "Orange is the New Black" season 5, but the show is expected to be released in its entirety in June 2017.