The Netflix series 13 Reasons Why hasn't even debuted its third season yet, but shooting for Season 4 is already underway in the North Bay.
The controversial series produced by Selena Gomez has shot in locations all around the northern Bay Area over the last three years, starting in Vallejo in June 2016. The production has used Analy High School in Sebastopol as the fictional Liberty High — where it will be returning between August and February — and shot in San Rafael as well. Now, as the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports, the cast and crew have been in Rohnert Park this week using the Sonoma State campus to stand in as the fictional Sanderson University. That includes stars Dylann Minnette, Steven Weber, Josh Hamilton, and Anne Winters.
The school is expected to receive around $30,000 from Paramount Pictures in location fees and reimbursements, and the university says it will put the funds toward educational programs — particularly around issues like suicide and school shootings, which figure into the plot of the show.
Also, the campus got some free sprucing up. Per the Press-Democrat:
Besides some new landscaping and tree trimming, a handful of the campus’s buildings received a needed power wash and in some cases a fresh coat of paint. The four-decade-old art sculpture known as Bacon and Eggs next to the university’s main instructional area also got a scrubbing, just as the adjacent snack bar Toast was rebranded the Hawk’s Nest.
The show, the first season of which debuted in 2017, has been in the news recently after Netflix made the decision to delete a graphic suicide scene from Season 1 — the plot of the season revolved around a series of audio tapes left behind after a teen girl took her own life. The decision followed a report from April that suggested there had been a national spike in teen suicides following the release of the show, particularly among males.
Here in the Bay Area, the first season prompted an immediate warning to parents from one Peninsula school district. And in June 2017, the suicides of two teen girls, one in Livermore and one in San Mateo, were linked to the show by the girls' parents.
At the time, show creator Brian Yorkey gave a statement saying, "Many people are accusing the show of glamorizing suicide, and I feel very strongly that we did the exact opposite. What we did was portray suicide and we portrayed it as very ugly and very damaging."
Nonetheless the show has apparently been a hit for Netflix, which has renewed it for four seasons — though we don't know how big of a hit because Netflix doesn't report on its viewership numbers.
Related: Two Bay Area Families Say Netflix's '13 Reasons Why' Triggered Their Teens' Suicides
Photo: David Sanchez Navarro/Instagram
If you are in crisis, text "BAY" to 741741 for free, 24/7, confidential crisis support from Crisis Text Line. And if you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you or they should call the San Francisco Suicide Prevention crisis line at 415-781-0500.
If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide: do not leave the person alone; remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt; and call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.