'13 Reasons Why' Season 2: What You Need to Know

The Plot

The debut season of the Netflix series was modeled after the young adult novel of the same name, which centered on high school student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) and her classmate Clay listening to the 13 cassette tapes she recorded mapping out the events that led to her death by suicide.

While the first season heavily drew from the novel, the second season will not be drawing from any source material and will instead explore the lives of Hannah's classmates and how her actions affected them.

"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."

New Characters

For its second season, the Netflix series has added several new cast members to its roster.

Anne Winters, Bryce Cass, Chelsea Alden, Allison Miller, Samantha Logan, Kelli O'Hara, and Ben Lawson have all been added to the cast for the new season of the show.

While none of the new cast members are series regulars, they are all said to feature prominently throughout the season and their collective past TV work includes series such as American Horror Story and Teen Wolf.

Warning Video

Ahead of the show's second season, the streaming platform announced that a suicide warning video will air in front of episodes of the dramatic series, which faced criticism during its debut season for its depiction of suicide and traumatic experiences, will be included.

In the video, stars of the show speak directly to the audience and encourage them to seek help if they feel they have suicidal thoughts, and also suggest that they avoid watching the show if they feel the subject matter may be triggering for them.

The clip has already been added to the first season episodes and will also play before episodes of the upcoming second season.

Selena Gomez Is Still Hands-On In Season 2

Selena Gomez, who executive produces and developed the project with her mom, Mandy Teefey, is still set to have involvement in the production of the series' second season.

"She's always involved, she's always checking in, she's always making important decisions, giving important notes, so she's boss, I love her," Steven Silver, who plays Marcus Col, told Entertainment Tonight.

Netflix Dropped Author Jay Asher

While Netflix has ventured beyond Jay Asher's original Thirteen Reasons Why novel for its series' second season, the company publicly distanced the author from involvement in the hit show over apparent allegations of sexual harassment.

"Jay Asher was not involved in the second season of 13 Reasons Why. The upcoming season will not be impacted in any way," the company told Entertainment Tonight on Feb. 13.

The statement came after the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators confirmed that Asher and another author had been expelled from the organization, and were "not welcome as members, faculty or speakers… There is a zero tolerance policy for harassment, there is a preponderance [of] powerful and respected women on our board, on our staff, and in our membership."

Details of the authors' violations were not made clear, but an investigation was launched after Asher and others received backlash following a School Library Journal article on sexual harassment in children's publishing. The article's comments section was blasted with anonymous comments about 42-year-old Asher and other prominent authors not mentioned in the piece.

Advanced Screenings

Although the show does not yet have a release date, fans were able to attend advanced screenings of the second season.

The screenings, which were scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on Friday, March 30, Sunday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 4, also included panel discussions with the cast. Tickets for the event cost $65 and were limited to two per person.

Release Date

Fans of the popular Netflix series have eagerly been awaiting a release date for the second season, which began filming in June 2017. Production was unexpectedly shut down in October due to the devastating wildfires that ravaged Northern California.

Currently, there is no set release day for the sophomore season of the show, though that has not stopped fans from speculating.

In March, a fake promotional poster for 13 Reasons Why's second season began to circulate online, leading many fans to believe that Netflix would surprise them by dropping the season onto their streaming platform with no announcement. The poster was later determined to be fake and star Christian Navarro, who portrays Tony Padilla, confirmed that the second season would not be dropping that weekend.

After that disappointment, fans came up with a new theory that the second season would be released this upcoming weekend. Coupling the date of the screenings – which logically indicates it won't release until afterwards – with the fact that Netflix tends to drop bigger shows and movies on the weekend gives the hope that Friday, April 6 or Saturday, April 7 as the release.