13 Reasons Why has been high on buzz since it premiered on Netflix back at the end of March. The series is based on the Young Adult novel by Jay Asher and doesn’t pull any punches when dealing with bullying, suicide, rape, and other topics that sometimes get swept under rugs and behind closed doors for teenagers around the globe. While controversy has followed the show, with Netflix forced to alter the show in order to warn those who may have been affected by the topics on the show, executive producer Selena Gomez and others involved in the show have a hit on their hands.
As Deadline reports, the critical reception and buzz on social media have pushed Netflix to renew the show for a second season. The second season will premiere, possibly with another spring debut, and will continue the story from the first season:
Season 2 will pick up in the aftermath of Hannah Baker’s death and the start of the characters’ complicated journeys toward healing and recovery.
Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Brian Yorkey, who wrote the adaptation and serves as an executive producer on the series, will take the reins as showrunner in Season 2. He succeeds in the role Diana Son, who was executive producer/showrunner on the drama’s first season.
Season 1 follows teenager Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) as he returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker (newcomer Katherine Langford) — his classmate and crush — who tragically committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life.
This news is sure to spark more debate over how the show handles the topics within and if the show is actually assisting matters or taking advantage. No matter, it’s clear that Netflix is happy with the show and is willing to give the showrunners an opportunity to tackle the criticism in a second season.
(Via Deadline)
