’13 Reasons Why’ Star Katherine Langford Teases ‘Different Hannah’ in Season 2

The suicide of Hannah Baker is at the center of the first season of 13 Reasons Why, but the character is still coming back for season two. Katherine Langford, the Australian actress who picked up a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Hannah, said the character will be very “different” in the new episodes.

In an interview with W Magazine earlier this month, Langford said playing Hannah in season two was more of a challenge. After finishing the movie Love, Simon, she did not return to the same Hannah she played in season one.

“The Hannah that we saw in season one, we were able to tell her story fully and she didn’t really come back in the same capacity or sort of as the same Hannah. It’s a different Hannah that you see in season two,” the 22-year-old actress explained. “I think that was challenging, season two, for reasons that are different than season one. But ultimately I’m super grateful to have been asked back, and I think we get to focus on some really important storylines this season of other characters.”

The first season picked up after Hannah’s suicide. It starts with high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) finding a collection of tapes recorded by Hannah, explaining the 13 reasons for her decision to take her own life. Each tape was addressed to a different student.

Langford said playing Hannah this time presented a different challenge for new reasons.

“Part of that was playing Hannah but not really playing Hannah,” she told W Magazine. “I think it was something that was figured out and changed along the way. I think ultimately it was challenging because it was something that changed and evolved over the course of shooting. It meant that I had to put a lot of trust, and sometimes complete trust, in the writers and the showrunner, Brian Yorkey, and also the directors. So I think that was challenging.”

The second season is set to tell many of the same stories in the first season, but from the perspective of other characters.

“It’s a different story than season 1 and I think that’s a good thing,” Langford told Entertainment Weekly in December. “This season we get to explore a lot more of the other characters and their journeys, which I’m excited about. As sad as it is, there is life after Hannah, and this season we get to see the effects it had on the people around her a lot more.”

In another interview with Vogue Australia, Langford said Hannah is very different from herself, since she had a group of supportive friends in school.

“In terms of playing Hannah, she’s a character I play, and I’m my own person,” she told Vogue. “We’re very different people and her story is different to mine; however, it’s still me, even through the make-up and the costume changes. Sometimes I think it’s tricky as an actor to determine what’s real and what’s not. We’re different people, but at the end of the day it’s still me … you see Hannah cry, but it’s Katherine’s tears, I guess.”

13 Reasons Why became a controversial hit. Although audiences loved it and critics praised it, some groups feared it promoted teen suicide. Netflix recently responded by adding a disclaimer to the start of the series, which is based on Jay Asher’s novel of the same name.

It’s not clear when Netflix plans to release the second season of 13 Reasons Why. There was hope it would come out on Saturday, March 31, after a poster with that date went viral. However, Netflix only posts new content on Fridays and actor Christian Navarro also debunked the rumors.