The Baby-Sitters Club Netflix Reboot Review
“Say hello to your friends!” anyone who grew up in the 90s on this beloved books series will remember the song from the short-lived 90s TV series based on the hit book series written by Ann M. Martin, The Baby-Sitters Club.
As a kid I grew up reading the books, watching the TV series and seeing the movie produced in 1995.
So going into this reboot by Netflix I was really nervous about how they were going to play this off. I didn’t watch or look at anything about the series before I saw it on Netflix. I knew I had to watch it cause this had been my childhood.
And boy was I amazed! I honestly love this reboot and hope to see more seasons.
So where to begin? I guess first I want to state that unlike the original 90s TV show and the 1995, eight of the ten episodes are taken from the main book series, particularly the first eight novels and the final two are somewhat based on the Super Special novel, Baby-sitters Summer Vacation. Of course written in the late 80s the Netflix series updates the novels to the more 2020 era, with smartphones, computers, high speed internet and even the way we talk.
Also, unlike the previous incarnations of the series the cast is more diverse this time around.
In both the 90s TV series and the 95 film the cast matched their novel counterparts, with 5 white girls and two of other ethnicity. In the Netflix series, it seems they were given more room to breathe and Mary Anne was changed to half African American while Dawn was changed to be Latina. This was actually a very welcomed changed to such a hit book series.
Also, we see LGBT+ characters in the Netflix remake where the book series, original TV series and the film had none. One of the Clubs’ charges parents was change to lesbian, Dawn’s father is now gay and even one of the kids they sit is a transgender. My favorite episode actually deals with the transgender child called “Mary Anne Saves the Day” where we see Mary Anne actual stand up for the transgender girl and tell the doctor and nurse to address the child as the gender she identifies as. In another episode, two of the girls make friends with a straight and gay boy who are best friends (if only that could have happened in my childhood!) while at a beach.
I honestly loved how the girls were so accepting of the LGBT+ characters in this new version of Stoneybrook and Sea City that Netflix has created. I love how they take jabs at some of the issues America is facing today and in the past, such as LGBT+ issues, transgender rights, the Japanese interment camps and the camps at the border.
Yes, I am for real, the show takes a jab at this with Claudia, a Japanese American member of the BSC, and her sister Janine talk about the United States’ history of racial discrimination and how America tore Japanese American families from their homes during World War II. Claudia when hearing the horrific treatment of her grandmother when Japanese Americans got arrested before being put in an interment camp, states to her sister, Janine, “I don’t understand how anyone could do that to a family.” to which Janine replies “I don’t understand why they still do.” This is taking a major jab at the maltreatment of those at the Southern border.
This series is absolutely amazing and if you were a fan as a kid, you will love it and it is an excellent series to share with your kids. I hope Netflix will continue the series and bring us a season two that is just as good as this season is. To watch the new series be sure to check it out on Netflix.
