Netflix’s ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ is a Joyous Celebration of Feminism and Friendship

The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix is a squee-inducing dream of a show. Yes, I said, “squee,” and I meant it in all its unfettered, girlish joy. The new half-hour family series not only captures exactly what made Ann M. Martin’s book series such a massive hit among Gen X and millennial kids, but it goes a step further. Under the graceful control of creator/showrunner Rachel Shukert, Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club imagines how Kristy (Sophie Grace), Mary-Anne (Malia Baker), Claudia (Momona Tamada), Stacey (Shay Rudolph), and Dawn (Xochtil Gomez) would tackle baby-sitting in the tumultuous world of 2020. The Baby-Sitters Club is an inspiring, hilarious, and unabashedly progressive show that will melt even the hardest of hearts.

The Baby-Sitters Club is lovingly based on the hit series of preteen readers by Ann M. Martin. While the in-universe genesis for the club is detailed in its first installment, Kristy’s Great Idea, in real life, the books came from a more calculated place. While working as a book editor at Scholastic, another editor approached Martin with the idea of creating a bottle series focused on the then-trendy topic of baby-sitting. Martin’s books, however, hit a different chord in readers. While each of her novels dealt with her heroines struggling with some kind of personal trial that interferes with their baby-sitting, the real allure of the books came from their powerful feminist message. All the girls in The Baby-Sitters Club are not only realized as strong individuals with unique points-of-view, but the girls support each other. Disputes are reconciled with heart-to-hearts and not catty games. This, plus the specificity with which Martin described the world of Stoneybrook, made the series a juggernaut hit and seminal influence on a generation of girls.

Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club follows this same essential formula. In fact, the first eight episodes are each based on one of Martin’s classic original novels, while the two-part finale is loosely based on the special Baby-Sitters’ Summer Vacation. This means that each episode is told from the perspective of one of the girls in the club. While many of these stories won’t surprise old school readers, the way Netflix The Baby-Sitters Club interprets each of these stories for 2020 will. Whether it’s Stacey being haunted by a viral video from her past or Mary-Anne having to stick up for a stigmatized girl she’s sitting, The Baby-Sitters Club perfectly translates the spirit of Martin’s beloved book series for today.

The reason why The Baby-Sitters Club works so wonderfully is two-fold. For one, the show is perfectly cast. Sophie Grace attacks the tomboy character of Kristy Thomas with a combination of steely tenacity and a hard exterior that’s clearly sheltering a broken heart. Although she plays it tough, Kristy is dogged by her father’s abandonment and quick to reject her mother Elizabeth’s (Alicia Silversone) new fiancé, Watson Brewer (Marc Feuerstein.) Malia Baker plays sweet, sheltered Mary-Anne Spiers with a sort of world-weariness that gets mistaken for an old soul. When she does finally stick up for herself, it feels like a volcano of deep-rooted frustration is exploding, and Mary-Anne is finding new life. (Marc Evan Jackson is an inspired choice for Mary-Anne’s overly protective widower father.)

In the series premiere, Kristy describes Claudia Kishi as the “coolest girl” they know, and Momona Tamada plays her exactly that way. Already confident in her own talent as an artist and fashion maven, Claudia exudes a je ne sais quoi that defies many women their whole lifetime. Likewise, Shay Rudolph plays Manhattan transplant Stacey McGill with the kind of cosmopolitan grace that eludes her peers. Still, like Claudia, she is still a tween girl, stumbling over her own deep-rooted insecurities. Rounding out the cast is Xochtil Gomez’s Dawn. Introduced as the new girl in town in Episode 4, Gomez brings a fresh new spin on Dawn’s California girl vibe. Still, she’s indefatigable in her optimism, which quickly makes her the heart of the BSC.

The second secret to The Baby-Sitters Club’s success is its creator, Rachel Shukert. A playwright best known for writing some of the most outstanding episodes of GLOW, Shukert parlays a lot of GLOW‘s charms into The Baby-Sitters Club. Namely, the ability to tell a heart-felt, humorous story that easily juggles — and more importantly, celebrates — the varied POVs that can exist in a female-focused ensemble. Both shows follow a group of ladies who band together to create a business they are proud of, but neither puts the gig at hand before the emotional state of the characters. (Even if those characters are, uh, putting the gig first.)

Netflix’s new version of The Baby-Sitters Club is a total triumph. It’s sweet, funny, hopeful, but most of all, encouraging. The message to girls, young and old, is that we are stronger together. The Baby-Sitters Club might be a pitch perfect show for kids and tweens, but it’s sure to become a feel-good obsession for grown women and men alike. It’s that good.

The Baby-Sitters Club premieres on Netflix on July 3, 2020.

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