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Binge-watch 'Orphan Black' for free this Friday

Send your clone to work and stay home for Season 1 of the cult-fave show, streaming free of charge courtesy of Amazon.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida

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BBC America

Ready to join the Clone Club?

This Friday, April 17, Amazon will ""="">stream Season 1 of the cult-hit BBC show "Orphan Black" free of charge, even if you're not an Amazon Prime subscriber.

The catch: You've got from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. (PT) to watch all 10 episodes. After that, the show reverts to subscribers-only status.

It's a marketing ploy, of course, as "Orphan Black" Season 3 debuts this weekend on BBC America, and Amazon's Prime Instant Video happens to be the exclusive streaming home of seasons one and two. The show is not available on Netflix.

How can you hope to fit all 10 hours into a workday? Stream the first episode on your train ride to work, the second during lunch, another on the way home, and the rest in your living room. Amazon is making the freebie available on pretty much every mobile or connected device that can access its Instant Video service, so you can jump between phone, tablet, PC and streaming box as needed.

In case you're unfamiliar with it, "Orphan Black" stars Tatiana Maslany as -- well, let's just say she's a very versatile actress. The show mixes drama, sci-fi and occasional bits of comedy. Season 1 earned an average of 4.7 stars (out of 5) from some 10,000 Amazon customers.

So here's your chance find out what all the fuss is about, even if you don't subscribe to Prime -- or cable!