Where Has 13 Reasons Why Been Banned And Why?
3 June 2020, 14:22 | Updated: 3 June 2020, 15:11
Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why has released its fourth and final season, but while we can watch it freely in the UK, some countries have completely banned it. So where is the series banned?
13 Reasons Why is releasing season 4 on June 5, 2020, and Netflix has announced that it’s set to be the final season of the show.
The controversial series is based on a 2007 novel of the same title, by Jay Asher, which follows the suicide of high-school girl Hannah Baker, who recorded tapes where she explained the reasons behind why she decided to take her own life.
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The show received a lot of backlash after it first dropped, due to graphic scenes and its deep nature of topic, but where has it been banned and why?
Watch the trailer for 13 Reasons Why season 4
Where has 13 Reasons Why been banned and why?
As a series, it is available to watch on Netflix around the world, including the UK and the US, so it hasn't been banned on TV, apart from in New Zealand, where the New Zealand Office of Film and Literature banned under 18s watching it without an adult.
However, according to the American Library Association, the 13 Reasons Why novel was the most banned book in American schools for the year, in 2017, which is when season one first aired.
This came as a study, which was done by the National Institute of Mental Health, stated that the series was ‘associated with a 28.9% increase in suicide rates among US youths ages 10-17 in the month (April 2017) following the show’s release, after accounting for ongoing trends in suicide rates’.
Ahead of its third season, Netflix made the decision to remove the controversial and explicit suicide scene, two years after the show’s debut.
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They were allegedly given advice from medial experts, according to The Hollywood Reporter, as they wanted to ensure proper action was taking place to protect fans.
The now-deleted scene first aired in the season one finale and sparked numerous petitions to be signed in order to discontinue the production of the show.
However, going forward, Netflix decided to continue with four seasons and cancel it afterwards as it promises a 'natural conclusion’.
The trailer shows that the main characters will be graduating from high school, which gives season four even more reason to end there.
