13 Reasons Why caused a stir with Netflix audiences earlier this year — some loved it, some hated it, but it seemed like everyone was talking about the controversial show depicting a teenage girl’s suicide and its effect on her school and community. In its first day streaming, it garnered 3.5 million tweets alone.
The show and its lead actress Katherine Langford, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, are back for another season. So what should we expect from season two? While the first season focused on the events leading to Hannah’s suicide, the next season will focus on the aftermath and show fans more of how Hannah’s suicide affected those around her.
“This season has been really interesting for a lot of reasons,” Langford said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a different story than season one and I think that’s a good thing. 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.”
According to showrunner Brian Yorkey, the plot line does not end with the tapes, because with each tape is another person with another story to tell.
“We really have characters who, after 13 episodes, are just beginning the process of recovery and the process of coming to terms with what part they might’ve played in Hannah’s death and how Hannah’s death will change their lives going forward,” he explains to Entertainment Weekly. “I think that there is so much that’s fascinating about the way we grieve, the way we recover, the way we learn to take better care of each other.”
And what about Hannah? Now that we’ve heard the tapes, what else is there to her story?
“You see a very different Hannah in season two. I would prepare fans not to expect the Hannah from season one for a multitude of reasons,” Langford hinted. And there’s a chance that after this season, it might be the last fans will see of Hannah. Not only will fans have to let her go, but Langford herself will have to move forward, too.
“I think a lot of this season for me is about letting Hannah go,” she said.
The release date for season two has not been announced, but filming just wrapped.