13 Reasons Why - 7 behind the scenes secrets

Hooked on 13 Reasons Why? Yeah, you're not alone. The series is every bit as heartbreaking, powerful, and intense as Jay Asher's book. There are more than 13 reasons why you'd want to spend all your waking hours binge-watching the Netflix series.

Seventeen.com talked to Hannah Payne,who plays Stephanie in two episodes, about the quirky things you might not have noticed going on behind the scenes. Don't worry ? no spoilers here.

1. Not every character in the series is in the book.

When the writers brought the 288-page book to life as a 13-hour series, they had to expand the world of the story with new characters.

"I think of the book as this outline of Hannah's story, and then from that, the writers of the series ? with Jay's blessing ? added so many details and plots that allow the viewer to unpack the story to a greater extent," Hannah said. "The new characters help out flesh out this world."

Her character Stephanie is among the new additions, which meant Hannah was acting from a clean slate. She's one of Courtney's best friends and "a ditzy take on the typical mean girl," Hannah explained. "When I got the breakdown for this character, it was funny because the script just said, 'Stephanie (pretty, dumb.)'"

Cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for #thirteenreasonswhy ?? #netflixoriginal

A post shared by Hannah Payne (@hannahgpayne) on Jan 7, 2017 at 10:32am PST

2. Some shots were filmed at a real high school, while others were filmed at an exact replica.

"The exterior shots and some of the interior shots were filmed at a real high school in northern California," Hannah said. That makes sense ? production began over the summer, when school was empty.

But production continued into the fall, when the school was no longer available. "The crew built an exact replica of the high school hallways and classrooms in this giant warehouse," she said. "I shot in both locations, and honestly, once you were inside, it was uncanny."

3. The winter formal scene took over a week to shoot.

The dance scene in episode five turned out to be surprisingly complex to shoot. The crew wanted to capture so many angles and do justice to so many different plot points that filming took more than a week.

Given that the majority of actors attended their own high school dances not that long ago, the week was filled with nostalgia.

"We had such a large group of young actors and actresses, so we really felt like we were going back to prom," Hannah shared. "It felt like going back in time, both when the cameras were rolling and when we were messing around in the green room having fun."

4. Sometimes evening scenes are shot at 4 am.

Every scene takes hours to shoot, and it can be tough to coordinate the cast and crew's schedule with the right time of day. So when necessary, they'd fake a nighttime scene by shooting before sunset.

"Sometimes, we'd shoot from four to six in the morning on a summer day because we needed it to look like it was seven o'clock on a fall night," Hannah revealed.

5. There's a secret meaning behind the lighting.

One thing you might have missed: when Hannah Baker is alive, the show is shot in "warm tones," but after she dies, "there's more blues, greys, and cooler colours," Hannah explained.

6. Some of the actors knew each other before the series began.

Back when Hannah and Dylan Minnette (who plays Clay Jensen) were both 16, they worked together on the pilot of an NBC show called Save Me, about a mum who suffers a near-death experience, then comes back to life to learn she can now receive messages from God. The series never got picked up and they lost touch until they both landed roles in 13 Reasons Why.

"We worked together when we had just gotten our drivers' licenses," Hannah recalled. "Four years later, I saw his name on the 13 Reasons Why call sheet, and it was like, oh my goodness, what are the odds? It was great to have a reunion when I signed on."

BTS of episode 5 with Clay the Courtnettes #13ReasonsWhy

A post shared by Hannah Payne (@hannahgpayne) on Apr 3, 2017 at 9:27pm PDT

7. Don't rule out a second season.

Netflix hasn't yet announced a second season, but Hannah says the idea isn't completely impossible.

"The finale definitely leaves room for the question of a second season and there are definitely some cliffhangers at the end that leave you wanting more," she hinted.

Noted.

13 Reasons Why aren't enough to describe how much I love this cast and crew... #LoveThesePeople #13ReasonsWhy #13RY

A post shared by Hannah Payne (@hannahgpayne) on Aug 28, 2016 at 8:51pm PDT

From: Seventeen