'The Baby-Sitters Club' (2020)

The Baby-Sitters Club is a Netflix series that serves as the newest adaptation of the book series of the same name by Ann M. Martin. This article will discuss the elements of the revival series.

Compared to the 1990 version, this revival series has a strong diverse cast, bringing a strong representation of multiracial and diverse people to young audiences. Mary Anne Spier is played by Malia Baker, a biracial actress of South African and Canadian heritage. Claudia Kishi is a Japanese American girl who is played by Momona Tamada, a Japanese Canadian actress. One unique trait about Claudia is that she never learned to speak Japanese despite her Japanese heritage. Sophie Grace plays the president of the club, Kristy Thomas. Mary Anne and Claudia are Kristy’s best friends.

As referenced by the series’ title, The Babysitters Club is about a group of middle school girls who form their own babysitting club. The pilot episode “Kristy’s Great Idea” foreshadows Kristy’s idea about starting a club where they babysit young kids for money. This idea is a catalyst for the rest of the episodes in the series; as the girls’ babysitting club becomes successful, they have to learn to juggle club meetings and the elements of typical middle school life, especially friendships. In the pilot episode, Kristy, the main character, is struggling with change in her family; her mother’s new boyfriend, Watson, is described as an invader initially. She is stubborn towards her mother since her parents divorce. Kristy’s voiceovers give viewers a scope of how she struggles with changes in her life.

Stoneybrook, Connecticut, is the main setting of The Babysitters Club. The place is described as a suburban town, as evidenced by the numerous kids living there and the school district within the area. The town is located somewhere near Stamford, Connecticut.

The main topic and theme of this series is running a business. Running a business is harder than it sounds and looks, especially for middle school kids. They have to keep up with their clients and their homework at the same time. When the character’s name is in the episode title, this shows that this episode is focused centrally on that character.

Fans of The Baby-Sitters Club will enjoy the episodes in this series as they see a more representative cast.