Netflix CEO defends '13 Reasons Why' renewal

Netflix just confirmed a new 13 Reasons Why season, despite controversies surrounding the show’s second season.

However, CEO Reed Hasting is coming to the its defense.

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“13 Reasons Why has been enormously popular and successful,” Hastings said during the Netflix annual shareholder meeting, reports Deadline. “It’s engaging content.”

“It is controversial,” the CEO continued. “But nobody has to watch it.”

After the release of the show’s second season, Parents Television Council urged Netflix to cancel 13 Reasons Why because of the potential harm it could cause children, “with its graphic suicide scene, its sodomization of a teen boy and a potential school shooting, among other adult content.”

Despite the concern, Netflix announced it signed the show for a 13-episode third season earlier today.

13 Reasons Why Season 3 is set to premiere in 2019 and we already know some details about the upcoming episodes.

Katherine Langford, who plays Hannah Baker in the series, shared on Instagram she will not be joining the cast for season three.

“This show will always be a special part of my life, and regardless of whether Hannah is there or not, I know that I will continue to strive to do work that is meaningful and has a positive impact,” Langford wrote.

During a recent Netflix FYC panel, showrunner Brian Yorkey also shared his thoughts on Langford’s leave:

“What happened to Hannah will always be the first clause of the story,” Yorkey said.

“The rest of the story is about young people, as so many young people, maybe all young people today (learn) how to heal from the things that have hurt them… to make the world that they want it to be, not just the world they are inheriting… and above all, how to take care of each other.”

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