Reasons Why is now streaming on Netflix

As 13 Reasons Why fans wait for the release of the Netflix adaptation (out this Friday), Selena Gomez – an executive producer on the series – teased a snippet of her contribution to the soundtrack: a heavy, smoky cover of Yazoo’s 1982 hit “Only You“.

“13 Reasons Why” follows the story of a young girl named Hannah (Katherine Langford), who leaves behind a series of audio recordings that explain why she committed suicide.

“I think kids especially, with social media sometimes, they just feel a little claustrophobic, and I don’t think their voice is actually being heard”, she added.

For Hannah’s story, she details several incidents that she felt led to her suicide – some major and some fairly insignificant – that all piled up to become a giant mass of problems and emotions too big for her to deal with anymore. In the 13 tapes, she outlines the 13 reasons why she died by suicide. Still reeling from the revelation that she was raped, Jessica tells Clay she isn’t yet ready to let anyone, including her father and the police, know about the assault.

The Grey’s Anatomy vet tried to make her performance as Hannah Baker’s mother as honorable as she could. “Hi, this is Hannah”, she announces on the first tape.

And the “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” hitmaker believes having read the text and turning it into a visual production nearly 10 years later allows her to convey a more poignant “message” to her audience. And while 13 Reasons Why certainly doesn’t go out of its way to villainize half of its cast, it’s a strangely revolutionary admission within the teen drama pantheon that still feels totally true to its characters. They began in Northern California’s Analy High School. It’s one of many moments that deftly captures the encroaching and unfair realities of adult life. But for all the teen angst and buzzy butterfly stomachs, 13 Reasons Why is an incredibly mature and a devastating look at the ripple effects of loss.

It’s a bit contrived – everyone mentioned on the tapes has received a set, and they have to pass them on (I never quite worked out who to) after listening to them in chronological order and following a printed map to landmarks around town which play a key part in Hannah’s story.

Minnette is, at 20, already an experienced film and TV actor (he started at age eight on Two and a Half Men), and he marvelously embodies the sweet bewilderment that many (most?) of us often find ourselves lost in during our high school years. Other characters listen to Joy Division on cassette tape.

“I would do anything to be able to have a good influence on this generation”.