(Season 2 debuted in 2018 a third season is expected to be released this summer.) Nic Sheff, one of the writers on the show, originally wrote an op-ed for Vanity Fair in 2017 arguing that the graphic detail of Hannah’s death was necessary, because the horror of the scene should help dissuade viewers from copying her.ĭr. That the decision to reedit the episode took two years to finalize speaks to how intense the discussions were among 13 Reasons Why’s creative team over the specific treatment of suicide in the show’s first season. We believe this edit will help the show do the most good for the most people while mitigating any risk for especially vulnerable young viewers.
No one scene is more important than the life of the show, and its message that we must take better care of each other. Christine Moutier at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and others, and have agreed with Netflix to re-edit it. But as we ready to launch Season 3, we have heard concerns about the scene from Dr. Our creative intent in portraying the ugly, painful reality of suicide in such graphic detail in Season 1 was to tell the truth about the horror of such an act, and make sure no one would ever wish to emulate it. The cut is seamless, and solemn.Ī representative for Netflix declined my request for an interview with 13 Reasons Why’s showrunner, Brian Yorkey, or other producers.
The next immediate shot is of her mother, Olivia (Kate Walsh), discovering her body. In a newly edited version of the Season 1 finale that replaced the old version, Hannah (played by Katherine Langford) looks at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. More than two years later, Netflix announced on Tuesday that it made the decision to cut that scene entirely. But the depiction of Hannah’s death was the aspect of the show that most troubled many experts, who argued it flouted long-standing media guidelines for portraying suicide, and could even lead to a potential contagion effect among teenage viewers. Suicide-prevention advocates objected to a number of the show’s elements, ranging from the perceived glorification of Hannah as a romantic heroine to the uselessness of the adults around her. In the series, it was portrayed in brutal, explicit detail over several minutes. In the book, the act of the central character Hannah’s suicide is mentioned only fleetingly. The series, based on a young-adult book of the same name by Jay Asher, is framed around one teenager’s decision to end her own life, and the various people she sees as having contributed to her crisis. When the first season of the Netflix teen drama 13 Reasons Why was released, in March 2017, the instantaneous clamor of viewers reacting to it online was followed by responses from mental-health experts expressing concerns about the show’s portrayal of suicide. For support and resources, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 80 or text 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. If you are in danger of acting on suicidal thoughts, call 911. If you are having thoughts of suicide, please know that you are not alone.