‘Baby-Sitters Club’ book series is getting a Netflix reboot

Mar 01, 2019

By Ari Rees

The worldwide best-selling book series “The Baby-Sitters Club” is coming to Netflix.

What happened: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has ordered a straight-to-series, 10-episode contemporary reboot of Ann M. Martin’s best-selling series “The Baby-Sitters Club.”

The show is being described as a family-friendly “dramady” aimed at kids, teens and adults, and it’s reported to tackle modern issues like divorce and racism, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Michael De Luca, producer of “The Social Network,” will produce the show with Martin and “Broad City’s” Lucia Aniello, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Melissa Cobb, VP of Kids and Family at Netflix, said, “The themes of ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ still resonate 30 years after the original book series was released, and there has never been a more opportune time to tell an aspirational story about empowering young female entrepreneurs.”

About the books: The first “The Baby-Sitters Club” book was published in August 1986 and soon became a hit series with over 200 books and 180 million copies sold to date, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

According to Scholastic, the series follows Kristy Thomas and her friends as they create a baby-sitters club for a chance to earn money and spend time with their friends while doing what they love. The series documents their adventures running a business and building relationships with each other.

Previous adaptations: “The Baby-Sitters Club” was adapted for television in 1990 and ran for one season on HBO. It was later adapted for film in 1995, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Frank Smith, CEO of the production company Walden Media that will be bringing the reboot to life, said, “For generations, young people have been captivated and inspired by the enterprising young women of ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’. Bringing this iconic series to life comes at a pivotal moment in Walden’s expansion into scripted televised content.”

There is no word yet on when the series will premiere.