The film 13 Reasons Why is based on the young adult novel of the same name written by Jay Asher. It follows the story of a young girl named Hannah who leaves a shoe box full of cassette tapes for her crush, named Clay, to pass on to 12 fellow students whom she blames for her decision to commit suicide. One of those 13 tapes is meant for Clay, the character central to the plot. Each tape reveals how each person contributed to her untimely death.
Fittingly, Gomez revealed the short teaser through her Instagram account – she is the most-followed person on the social media site with 108 million people viewing her daily posts. Not surprisingly, the video has already garnered almost 6.5 million views.
At a time when teenage suicides are on the rise, this series could do more than just entertain, but also provide a glimpse into the thought processes of troubled youth, both for young people themselves and for parents watching. Given Gomez’s influence on the millennial demographic, it’s an important statement that she’s involved in the series.
In the teaser, Hannah ‘s voice-over notes that we’re about to embark on the story of her life, and why it ended. “If you want to know the truth,” she utters, “just press play.” One classmate admits after listening to his tape that “if one thing had gone differently, somewhere along the line, maybe none of this would have happened.”
The 13-episode series will be produced by Paramount Television, and is set to debut on Netflix on March 31. Newcomer Katherine Langford will play Hannah, and Dylan Minnette (Scandal, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day) will play Clay. Also attached to the project is Kate Walsh (Fargo, Private Practice), who will play Hannah’s grieving mother.
In her Instagram message that accompanied the video, Gomez called the series her “passion project.”
