Laura Prepon to Exit ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Laura Prepon will soon be a free woman.

As first reported by Buzzfeed, Laura Prepon, who plays 'Alex Vause,' the former international drug-running girlfriend of Taylor Schilling on Netflix's ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, will exit the series midway through the upcoming second season. Prepon will wrap her character's current storyline before departing the Jenji Kohan-created show, with the option to return available.

"Our season is still developing and nothing is confirmed," Netflix's rep said in a statement today, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Prepon's representatives also reportedly declined to comment.

BLACK recently bumped up Taryn Manning, Danielle Brooks, and Uzo Aduba for the second season.

Produced by Lionsgate Television, the hour-long series starring Taylor Schilling, and based on the popular memoir of the same name by Piper Kerman, debuted its first 13-episode season on Thursday, July 11. The series also stars Jason Biggs, Laura Prepon, Kate Mulgrew, Michael Harney, Michelle Hurst, Maria Dizzia, and Natasha Lyonne.

Shooting on the sophomore season of Orange is the New Black began just a few weeks ago ahead of its early 2014 premiere date.