Netflix recently released one of their new original series. The series is based off the popular books written by Ann M. Martin, "The Baby-Sitters Club". In 1990, there was a series about the book itself. While the film only had one season, it has been thirty years since the film was released on television for all teens to watch. While the 90's version is not on Netflix, the 2020 version is trending on the app.
So, for anyone who did not grow up reading the book series may be confused. Some of you may be asking yourself; "What is the baby-sitters club?" "Is this just about teenagers who babysit?". Well the show is definitely not just about teenagers changing diapers and taking care of little kids. The "Baby-Sitters Club" is about a club that was started by a four middle-school students. The group began by launching their brand by handing out flyers in their town. Of course with them only being in middle school, they were not professional promoters. Yet their idea of giving out information about their organization helped bring in them the perfect people to babysit. At first some of the girls struggled taking care of children, as it was technically their first job. (Also lets be honest, some children can be a handful.) But the baby-sitting was not their only struggle in their life.
Kristy Thomas, founder of "The Baby-Sitters Club" has a rocky relationship with her mothers boyfriend. The reason for this relationship not being so swell is due to her past. Kristy's biological father left her mother, without bothering to call Kristy. It has been almost a year since Kristy has seen or heard from her father, which has caused her to struggle to open up to new people. Yet she is not the only member of the club without a parent.
Mary Anne, a shy quiet girl with overalls. Mary is a daughter with no siblings or mother. She lives with her strict father right next-door to Kristy Thomas. Kristy misses her mother each day, and sometimes has issues with her fathers rule. Yet her fathers rule are not the only thing that controls her life. Kristy is very timid, which causes her to not always stand for herself. But luckily Mary Anne meets a new person at her school that helps herself build up confidence.
Dawn Schafer, is the new girl in town that sits by Mary at lunch. Dawn tends to be a more out going person and later joins the group. Of course, she did not receive the warmest of welcome by each member. Kristy had negative thoughts about letting Dawn into "The Baby-Sitters Club". Yet Kristy was not the kindest to each girl in the beginning of the series.
Stacey McGill, moved from New York to a new small town. She met Claudia Kishi, another member of "The Baby-Sitters Club", and they became best friends. The two joined the club together and began growing closer to Kristy, Mary, and Dawn. While Mary and Dawn was always kind towards Stacey, Kristy had a little bit of attitude. Kristy did not trust Stacey during the beginning of the club meetings. Stacey constantly made excuses to leave meetings early, or not babysit at times. Yet little did all the girls know about Stacey's disease. Stacey suffers from diabetes, which she tries to hide from her new friends and students from her middle school. But, poor Stacey was not the only girl keeping secrets.
Claudia Kishi, the creative artist of the group. Claudia is "the coolest girl" pretty much ever. She has a chill fashion sense, and always has her art supplies in handy. While her grandma loves to see her masterpieces, Claudia's family is not as proud. Her mother and father constantly stress her about her grades, as she struggles in school. While Claudia always gets an A+ in art class, her grades in math are typically a D. At least she is not failing, right? While she is not doing her best in math class, her parents always criticize her grades and work ethic.
The series helps the new generation process real life issues that students in their school are facing while relying on the classic book series. While this show is more relatable for middle-school students, as the roles are played by fourteen year olds, anyone can watch it. I am a freshman in college, and I binged this entire show in almost two days. Just make sure to have some tissues handy, you might shed a tear during the series.
