‘13 Reasons Why’ is all set to return to Netflix next year with season 3
Here is some good news for all the '13 Reasons Why' fans. Netflix has officially renewed the popular teen drama series for a 13-episode third season which will premiere in 2019. The streaming network confirmed the news with a teaser released on social media on Wednesday.
The show's renewal comes less than a month after the May 18 debut of season 2. Creator of the series, Brian Yorkey will return as showrunner from Paramount Television and Anonymous Content. Katherine Langford, who plays Hannah Baker, will not be returning for the third season as she recently confirmed that she would be leaving after playing the central character for the first two seasons.
Yorkey, Joy Gorman, Mandy Teefey, Kristel Laiblin, Tom McCarthy, Selena Gomez and Steve Golin are returning as executive producers.
'13 Reasons Why' is one of Netflix’s most popular shows, with the current second season topping various rankings of the most streamed series for weeks since its release. The second season drew an average minute audience of 2.6 million in the US during the first three days after its debut, according to Nielsen, with the premiere episode pulling in 6 million viewers in three days.
However, despite the show's impressive ratings, the content and the subject matter has been debatable. There were many questions whether Netflix would proceed with a third season after authorities raised concerns. The series, which deals with teen suicide, bullying, drunk driving and rape in graphic detail, was criticized by some mental health experts who say it could pose health risks for young people, especially those with suicidal thoughts. Netflix took a cautionary measure and added new title cards with advisories that played before season 1 episodes and introduced a warning video beginning with season 2 that plays in before the episode.
Now that season 3 is confirmed, Yorkey shared some clues about his plans at a Netflix FYC panel Friday. “What happened to Hannah will always be the first clause of the story,” he said. “The rest of the story is about young people, as so many young people, maybe all young people today (learn) how to heal from the things that have hurt them…to make the world that they want it to be, not just the world they are inheriting…and above all, how to take care of each other.”
Katherine Langford bid farewell at the same time. “I think 13 Reasons Why will always be an important part of my life. It was the first job I ever had,” she said, adding that she planned to maintain her connection with the show’s fans “even if it’s in a small capacity, on social media." Langford starred alongside Dylan Minnette, Alisha Boe, Miles Heizer and Derek Luke.