13 Reasons Why Stars on Why Season 2 Had to Happen

Alisha Boe, Ross Butler and Miles Heizer talk Netflix's follow-up to the wildly successful adaptation to Jay Asher's novel

By Billy Nilles May 21, 2018 6:56 PMTags
Watch: "13 Reasons Why" Season 2 Answers Big Questions

When Netflix announced that there would be a second season of 13 Reasons Why, fans of the 2017 series, based on Jay Asher's 2007 novel of the same name, wondered what it might look like.

After all, the first season had exhausted its source material, reaching a conclusion that made it seem impossible to further the story of its main character Hannah Baker (played by breakout star Katherine Langford) or continue with its effective narrative structure. But for the stars of the show, they never doubted the second season's cause for existence.

"I felt like there were so many questions left unanswered at the end of season [one,]" Alisha Boe, whose character Jessica was raped by Hannah's attacker Bryce Walker as well during the course of the first season, told E! News at Netflix's second quarter junket in Los Angeles earlier this month. "A lot of people asked that Hannah's tapes are done, but I really wanted to see—well, I'm biased, but I really wanted to see everyone else's story and really explore Jessica's storyline more."

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13 Reasons Why Season 2 Photos: Justice for Hannah Baker?
Netflix

Miles Heizer, whose character Alex was left in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound at the end of season one, agreed with his co-star. "I think that there were questions that weren't answered and I think it's cool that we get to answer those for a lot of people and kind of see also just the effects of everyone's actions for the first season and see how they continue to effect these characters over more time," he told us.

"It's the fallout of what happens," fellow co-star Ross Butler added. "I wanted to see how all these characters dealt with guilt, if it was guilt, or recovery in your guys' case, especially, and just paint the full picture and fill in the gaps so that everybody could see the full story."

In fact, Butler admitted that the second season, which follows the ensuing trial from Hannah's parents' (played by Kate Walsh and Brian d'Arcy James) lawsuit against Liberty High while a shadowy conspiracy works to keep Hannah's classmates quiet, felt only natural. "I think it was an organic follow-up. I think in real life, if this happened, of course the Bakers would try to find out who's accountable," he argued. "It wasn't surprising."

For more from the trio, including what interacting with fans of such a though-provoking and emotional series has been like for the last year, be sure to check out the video above.

13 Reasons Why is available to stream now on Netflix.