'13 Reasons Why' Season 3 Production Is Starting Sooner Than You Think, So Get Ready

Given the long wait between the first two seasons of 13 Reasons Why, it's easy to forget that the show's cast gathers to film a new season long before the return of more episodes is on fans' radar. Shortly after the highly anticipated Season 2 debut in May, the Netflix hit was renewed for a third season, and while we have no idea about what direction the intense plot will take, we now know when the show's filming will resume. 13 Reasons Why Season 3 production is starting soon, and that means it's time to start scoping for behind-the-scenes clues of what comes next.

The site Spoiler TV, which regularly reports on when TV shows are beginning their production on a new season, has nailed down the 13 Reasons Why Season 3 start date as Aug. 6. The late summer kickoff is a little delayed compared to regular network shows, a majority of which are resuming work the week after the Fourth of July and preparing for their new season to debut in September. Seeing as 13 Reasons Why is a Netflix series that isn't launching its third season until 2019, it makes sense that the production team is using as much time as possible to prepare the new storyline before filming starts.

Before the show was even renewed in early June, fans sensed that Season 3 was essentially confirmed because of reports that Netflix had secured Analy High School, the real-life filming location for the show's school, for another round of production. The Sonoma West Times reported that production company Paramount Pictures agreed to pay the school district about $66,000 to film for 30 days on the high school's campus in Sebastopol, California. The agreement reportedly listed 13 Reasons Why's shooting schedule as running from mid-June to mid-December, but perhaps that was just a preliminary outline to ensure that the school was committed to working with Netflix again.

Last year, Season 2 production was briefly shut down due to its filming in areas that Northern California wildfires endangered. According to Deadline, the unplanned break in shooting lasted for three days until smoke in the air cleared substantially. There's always a chance that more wildfires could occur once autumn rolls around, but will 13 Reasons Why have more reasons to film in the woods and rely on weather conditions this season?

While knowing when Season 3 filming starts is exciting, it doesn't offer any hints about when new episodes will actually premiere. Netflix shows don't exactly maintain linear and reoccurring premiere dates, which leaves fans to play guessing games about their returns. As Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why began shooting in late June 2017, Reddit user EternalSanction points out that Season 3 could logically premiere in June 2019, a month later than when the show returned in 2018.

As for what happens in Season 3, we know that Katherine Langsford's Hannah is not returning as a ghost. Although Season 2 managed to delve into nearly every character's psyche and background, Dylan Minnette's Clay stuck out as someone whose mental health definitely wasn't receiving the spotlight it deserved. Thanks to the season's ominous ending of Clay holding Tyler's weapon on school property, Minnette suspects that Season 3 will finally explore Clay's wellbeing. He previously told Entertainment Tonight:

I think even seeing him in therapy at some point or something… having someone to talk to and having Clay be able to face these problems that he has... I think that [his mental health is] not fully recognized by himself or any of the characters surrounding him yet. And that's exactly something I would love to see explored.

Once the cast returns to set in August, we'll have to keep our eyes peeled for any social media clues about what Season 3 will entail.

Season 3 of 13 Reasons Why premieres on Netflix in 2019.