Who is narrating 13 Reasons Why season 3? The first official trailer for the season may have answered that question while also providing insight into the importance of a new character. 13 Reasons Why season 3 hits Netflix August 23, and season 4 is already in development.
Based on the young adult novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why season 1 followed the aftermath of a high school student, Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford), committing suicide. Before she died, Hannah left behind a series of cassette tapes detailing the reasons for killing herself, including calling out the people that led her to make the tragic decision. Despite being gone by the time the series started, Hannah served as season 1's narrator, tasked with interweaving the past and present storylines.
Hannah's presence was still felt in 13 Reasons Why season 2 but she no longer lent her voice for the narration. As the rest of Liberty High was gearing up for the ensuing trial between the Baker family and the school, those who testified served as the narrators. This gave a handful of characters a chance to tell their own side of Hannah's story. Now that Hannah's focus is in the rear-view, 13 Reasons Why will feature a new narrator for season 3. Based on the first official trailer for the season, all signs are pointing to newcomer Ani Achola, played by Grace Saif, being that narrator.
Not much is known about the new character played by Saif, but she is a British actress and the narrator in the trailer had a fitting accent. Since 13 Reasons Why season 2 already cycled through a number of characters as narrators, it would make sense that series go with an outsider who has a new perspective on the town. The main mystery surrounding 13 Reasons Why season 3 is who killed Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice). Unlike nearly everyone else in the series, Ani is the only person who doesn't have a clear motive to kill Bryce.
The official logline for 13 Reasons Why season 3 also reveals that Ani's role will be key to the primary storyline. The synopsis specifically reads: "It’s up to a shrewd outsider to steer the group through an investigation that threatens to lay bare everyone’s deepest secrets." That "shrewd outsider" is most likely Ani, but she will have her own dark secrets, too, like everyone else. In the trailer, Ani was shown scrubbing what looked like blood out of a shirt. Could she have a tragic history with Bryce that nobody knew about?
Ani supposedly has a close relationship to Clay and Jessica (Dylan Minnette and Alisha Boe, respectively) and will serve as a new student at Liberty High. Clay will most likely get into some sort of trouble based on 13 Reasons Why's season 2 cliffhanger ending. After stopping Tyler (Devin Druid) from carrying out a school shooting, Clay was left standing outside of the school holding a gun. Even if he talked his way out of trouble with the police, he would still be on their minds. After Bryce's disappearance and death, there's no doubt why Clay would be a top suspect. When Clay was being taken by police in the final trailer for 13 Reasons Why season 3, he gave Ani a very glaring look. Whether or not she was directly involved in Bryce's death, she is seemingly conducting her own type of investigation into her fellow classmates.