Netflix is in final negotiations to adapt the best-selling young adult novel “13 Reasons Why” as a 13-episode miniseries with Selena Gomez set to star, Variety has learned exclusively. Gomez is also attached as an exec producer.
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“13 Reasons Why” marks Gomez’s first major exec producing credit, though she did serve as an EP on Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” TV movie, “The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex” in 2013. Gomez got her start on “Barney & Friends” and rose to fame on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place,” on which she starred for its four-season run.
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Yorkey, who will continue as writer on the full Netflix miniseries, won three Tony Awards for his 2010 rock musical “Next To Normal.”
For Paramount, “13 Reasons Why” marks a continued effort into original series, joining projects including TNT’s “The Alienist” and EPIX’s “Berlin Station.”
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“13 Reasons Why” was published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Group, and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for eight years straight, being printed in 35 languages. The book inspired the Thirteen Reasons Why Project, an online community where readers can share their reactions to the story, in an effort to spread the discussion on teen suicide and bullying prevention.