We reported last year that The Baby-Sitters Club was reforming under the eyes of Broad City’s Lucia Aniello and GLOW’s Rachel Shukert, and now we’ve learned that it will grow its ranks at Netflix. The streamer has ordered 10 episodic, half-hour episodes about the characters at the heart of Ann M. Martin’s ubiquitous, Connecticut-set book series.
In addition to chronicling the girls’ entrepreneurial efforts, the family-friendly series will, per Deadline, also tackle subjects including “racism, divorce, and belonging while continuing to push the bar and explore relevant issues” of today’s youth. Melissa Cobb, vice president of Kids & Family at Netflix, says the series seeks to “contemporize the storylines and adventures of this iconic group of girlfriends to reflect modern-day issues.”
“I’m amazed that there are so many passionate fans of The Baby-Sitters Club after all these years, and I’m honored to continue to hear from readers—now grown, who have become writers, editors, teachers, librarians, filmmakers—who say that they see a reflection of themselves in the characters of Kristy and her friends,” Martin said in a statement. “So I’m very excited about the forthcoming series on Netflix, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere.”
Walden Media, Michael De Luca, and Lucy Kitada will executive produce, with Shukert serving as showrunner and Aniello directing. One can only hope that De Luca’s involvement bodes well for the return of German exchange student Luca, who occupied more than a few pre-teen dreams in the ‘90s.
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My sister was a big fan of the books and someone gave her a collection that came with a VHS of a Babysitter’s Club movie (er…single episode of the TV show?). We didn’t own a VCR, so it was a mystery what was on there until my mom’s cousin briefly moved in with us and brought one. I don’t remember anything about the plot or characters—we must’ve only watched it the one time. But, here, decades later, I can sing the theme song on command. In fact, it’s stuck in my head right now.
Say hello to your friends!Fun fact: Ann Dowd from the Handmaid’s Tale played Kristy’s mom in these episodes!
…The theme song to this will be in my brain for hours. “Say hello to your friends, Babysitter’s Club….”
Requiescat in pace, before-times gimmick commenter Claudia Kishi BSC VP – my only touchstone for this series.
Am I wrong in thinking they solved mysteries, or we’re they just a club? I wasn’t the target demo.
You are wrong. They baby-sat little kids, like it says in the name!
They do have a small offshoot of the main series called Baby Sitters Club Mysteries (and a few Super Mysteries) that have 30-40 books where they solve mysteries, but in the main series it’s just them babysitting and being teenagers and family/friend drama etc .
Like all series fiction of the era, there was a mystery spinoff sub-series.
Even in 1995 as a middle schooler the Luca/Staky plotline made me cringe. Revisiting the books through the BSCC podcast has reveled that an older boy (sometimes older that 18) dating or attempting to date the 13 and 11 yo baby sitters was a recurring theme. Most of these guys actions are portrayed as normal and even romantic. No one in the books ever points out how problematic a 16 yo dating an 13yo is. The movie acts like the problem is Staky’s lies about her age as diabetes not that Luca should have known and been better. I hope the new series finds a better way to portray these storylines.
Hold up – Troy from Crooklyn played Jessi in the Baby-Sitters’ Club Movie?!Man, good for her!
Did Binky and Claudi Kishi survive the Kinjpocalypse?