Series Title: 13 Reasons Why

Number of Seasons: 1

Starring: Dylan Minnette (Clay Jensen), Katherine Langford (Hannah Baker), Christian Navarro (Tony Padilla)

Our Rating: B+

Since its release, viewers cannot stop talking about the Netflix original, 13 Reasons Why. Based on the YA novel with the same name, the show revolves around Hannah Baker, played by Katherine Langford, who committed suicide after being bullied in her school. She left tapes for select classmates to hear outlining the 13 reasons why she decided to end her life, with each tape being directed at a different person that she blamed.

The show, executive produced by Selena Gomez, focuses on intense topics such as suicide and rape with the overarching message of being kind to others because you may never know what another person is facing. Since the series is directed towards teenagers, it is an important message to convey, especially at a time where hatred and negativity is present in daily life. Although this show is for teenagers, it is not for the faint of heart. Several episodes include severely graphic content, especially about suicide, that led to production placing viewer discretion warnings at the beginning of the episodes.

Although the show has stirred up conversations throughout social media, it is not as thrilling and exciting as viewers expect. The plot moves slowly during the first few episodes leaving viewers bored or skipping parts to get to more entertaining scenes. However, the series does pick up its pace half way through which more than makes up for the slow start. Another complaint which many viewers have pointed out is that the show is not as realistic as it intends to be. The relationship between the characters can at times feel unnatural and many of the situations do not resemble how teenagers would react in the real world.

The series takes the important first step of starting conversations about these difficult topics such as suicide but it does little to offer alternatives. Throughout the show solutions for people who might feel like they’re in the same situation as the protagonist are never mentioned, such as calling a hotline.

“I binge watched 13 Reasons Why and I loved it. I read the book a few years ago and it was great to see the characters come to life. Although some scenes were different in the book than in the movie, it actually made the show more interesting since there were so many plot twists I wasn’t expecting,” sophomore Isabella D’Ottone said.

After the series’ short 13-episode run, fans have been left wondering if the show will continue for more seasons. All thirteen tapes have been exposed and everything that happened in the original book has already occurred in the series so it would seem fitting for the show to end. But the show ended with various cliffhangers leading fans to wonder if the show will continue and answer the remaining questions about the characters. So far, producers have made no comments on the fate of the show and only time will tell if more seasons will be released.