The movie world was probably at the feet of Tom McCarthy after “Spotlight” was the surprise winner for Best Picture at the Oscars last year, which also landed the filmmaker a statue on his shelf for Best Adapted Screenplay. But instead of leaping to another prestige project, or trying his hand at blockbuster fare, McCarthy took the unexpected route of going to Netflix, teaming with Selena Gomez (yes, really) and co-producing and directing the YA drama “13 Reasons Why.” Generally, the phrase “YA drama” would be cause for pause, but McCarthy’s involvement and the compelling teaser have us intrigued.
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Dylan Minnette, Katherine Langford, Kate Walsh, Brian d’Arcy James, Derek Luke, Brandon Flynn, Justin Prentice, Alisha Boe, Christian Navarro, and Tommy Dorfman star in the series, based on the books by Jay Asher, which flashes back and tells the story of why a teenager named Hannah committed suicide. Here’s the official synopsis:
13 Reasons Why is a new series from Netflix adapted from the best-selling books by Jay Asher. It follows teenager Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) as he returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker (newcomer Katherine Langford) — his classmate and crush — who tragically committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Will Clay be one of them? If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, 13 Reasons Why weaves an intricate and heart wrenching story of teenage life that will deeply affect viewers.
“13 Reasons Why” lands on Netflix on March 31st and will feature, you guessed it, 13 episodes.
