Orphan Black: Season Three

Tatiana Maslany is still the reason to see the BBC America original series Orphan Black, a sci-fi conspiracy show about a group of women who discover that each one is part of a cloning experiment. Maslany plays all of the clone sisters, who band together to protect themselves from both their corporate creator and the enemies who want to either hijack or terminate "Project Leda." The strength here lies in the way that Maslany creates complete, richly-layered individual characters out of each sister while also developing complex relationships between them. The central conceit is impressive as a special-effects stunt, of course, but Orphan Black is also satisfying as character drama as these strangers become family. Season three adds more clones, thanks to rival experiment "Project Castor," which has created a male clan called the "Soldier Boys," all played by Ari Millen. Unfortunately, they aren't nearly as interesting or as differentiated as Maslany's sisters and the confusion doesn't much serve the overarching story. While the conspiracy behind the experiment is ostensibly what drives the Leda sisters, it increasingly feels less like a conceptual foundation and more like an excuse to send characters running through their plotlines. But the talented Maslany still manages to sustain this high-concept thriller series. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2015, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, an extended scene, and a blooper reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)