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Missing your lunchbox days and looking for a television show that’ll make you reminisce about being a middle schooler navigating the world? Netflix’s reboot of The Baby-Sitters Club, originally based on the 1980s and ‘90s novels, is just what you need to feel that wave of nostalgia. The series is set in modern day, but be prepared to be transported back to the ‘90s as soon as that classic, clear landline phone appears.
The 2020 version of The Baby-Sitters Club (with GLOW producer Rachel Shukert as the showrunner) has been slightly updated, but it still has the same characters created by Ann M. Martin that fans of the books fell in love with. Readers were first introduced to Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and eventually Dawn in the quaint, fictional town of Stony Brook, Connecticut in 1986. Martin (as well as a few ghostwriters) wrote a total of 213 novels before publishing stopped in 2000. The books lead to a one-season show which ran on HBO and a 1995 film. There were also a few spin-offs and graphic novels in between, but now the relatable middle schoolers are finally back on screen.
In the reboot, the five main girls are still wide-eyed 7th graders who start their own babysitting service, but Netflix’s version will tackle bigger issues like racism and divorce. Also, the group is more diverse. Martin, who is a producer on the show, said in a statement that she was “very excited about the forthcoming series on Netflix, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere.”
New fans and old will appreciate that all the pre-teens and teens in the show are actually close in age to their characters. Yes, teens playing actual teens!
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