The beloved, bestselling Scholastic books, and now the family-friendly-yet-modern show, focus on what started out as a business venture to help take care of neighborhood children and blossoms into so much more—lifelong, tight-knit female friendships. It’ll remind you of your own pre-teen years and put you in the mood for a sleepover with your BFFs. With a nostalgic pull, The Baby-Sitters Club gets to the heart of teen friendship and family life while exploring a wide variety of issues: protective parents, divorce, boy troubles, learning about responsibility, acceptance and finding yourself. The creative team behind the charming show says the series is all about “girl power” both in front of and behind the camera, with a majority of the episodes written co-written, and directed by women. Keep reading for more about The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2!
When is The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2 release date?
Season 2 of The Baby-Sitters Club will begin streaming on Monday, Oct. 11, exclusively on Netflix.
How many episodes are there in The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2?
The Baby-Sitters Club’s second season will contain eight half-hour episodes.
What is The Baby-Sitters Club about?
Well-known for its portrayal of female friendships and young entrepreneurship, the story follows the adventures of five best friends in middle school, in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut, who begin a babysitting business while also dealing with preteen angst. The BFFs include sporty and ambitious Kristy, sensitive and shy Mary Anne, creative and talented art student Claudia, and two newcomers to town: mature Stacey and passionate Dawn. While each of the girls has her own unique personality to get to know, it is reassuring that they aren’t completely different from the way they were originally written in the books. The club began at the beginning of seventh grade as a way to make some spending money by taking care of neighborhood children, but it grows into so much more. The girls lean on one another through good times and rough patches, and their growing pains are often eased by their close-knit friendships and a warm hug. Based on the best-selling book series and following the beloved 1995 movie, the heartfelt reboot of the classic story is about how young girls with disparate backgrounds, personalities, and opinions are able to come together in a business venture and cement their all-important bonds of friendship. With season 2, the girls are a year older, a new school year is beginning and the beloved show will continue to tackle some of the heavier topics from the books, such as divorce and racism, as well as “relevant issues facing modern-day teens,” according toDeadline.
Who is in the cast of The Baby-Sitters Club?
Sophie Grace plays Kristy Thomas, Malia Baker portrays Mary-Anne Spier, Momona Tamada plays Claudia Kishi, Shay Rudolph portrays Stacey McGill and Xochitl Gomez was portraying Dawn Schafer, and when she left due to scheduling conflicts the role of Dawn was taken over by Kyndra Sanchez. Also, Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) plays Kristy’s selfless single-mother, Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer. And Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) plays Elizabeth’s love interest who becomes her husband at the end of season 1, Watson Brewer.
Sophie Grace
Sophie Grace, 14, has appeared in the shorts The Over-The-Hill Grand Prix, Business As Unusual, and Genesis. She is a native of Philadelphia and currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida. One of six siblings, she began acting at the tender age of three in school and local plays, and began her professional training when she was 10, and two years later she booked her first professional role in the Lifetime TV movie Terror in the Woods. Grace tells Parade.com that she and her character Kristy have a great deal in common. “We are both probably overly independent, very assertive, and share a take-charge kind of attitude,” she explains. “But Kristy definitely takes it more to the extreme than I do. Also, I’m much more into the arts and music and she is more into sports, much like the rest of my family.”
Malia Baker
Malia Baker’s mom gave her copies of the books to prepare for her audition for The Baby-Sitters Club. Canadian raised, Baker only began acting classes one year before auditioning for the role of Mary Anne during a Netflix search of North America. Baker has also appeared in the ABC series A Million Little Things, the CW show The Flash and the Hallmark TV movie Hope At Christmas. Baker believes that each of the girls finds a kinship with their on-screen characters. “I feel that we all relate to our characters in some aspect,” Baker explains to Parade.com. “From the first audition, I felt a connection with Mary-Anne, and while reading the books she was my favorite because she was so shy. I love that she is a bi-racial girl now; it’s that representation that I was craving when I was growing up. Being that person for someone else is a lifelong dream that’s been fulfilled, and hopefully, I’ll be able to do that with my upcoming projects.”
Momona Tamada
Momona Tamada, 13, was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia by her Japanese immigrant parents. She began her acting career in 2019 with the TV series, The Boys, The Terror,Gabby Duran & The Unsittables, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and The Main Event. In addition to her love for acting, Tamada is an award-winning dancer and has been competing since the age of four. She has had the honor of performing for the British Columbia Summer Games and with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Tamada has become a big part of Claudia and vice versa. “Claudia is just so bold and so comfortable with herself,” she tells Parade.com. “I think that she has inspired me to really accept myself for who I am to embrace every part of myself.”
Shay Rudolph
Shay Rudolph began her career on stage. She was also a recurring guest-star on the Fox TV series Lethal Weapon. She is a vegetarian and deeply devoted to promoting animal rights. For Rudolph, her character of Stacey has given her many gifts both as an actress and a young woman. “I would say that Stacey has taught me to be more confident in who I am as a person and to really love those things that I can’t change about myself,” she says. “I think that’s one of the many things that Stacey is really good at.”
Kyndra Sanchez
Kyndra Sanchez is best known for her role as Yoli Greenberg in the 2021 Netflix film Finding Ohana. Her professional acting debut took place in 2016 with Dora and Friends: Into the City. She had a role on TV’s Butterbean’s Café. Before The Baby-Sisters Club, she appeared on Sesame Street and was in an episode of the award-winning show The Queen’s Gambit, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Being one of the new girls on The Baby-Sitters Club series might have been daunting for Sanchez when she took over the role of Dawn, but she says her new BFFs immediately put her at ease. “Everyone was super supportive, kind, and welcoming. If I ever had a question, the girls would come to me with open arms and help,” Sanchez explains. “I’m super grateful for each and every one of them. It has been a true joy filming with such talented individuals.”
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone, 43, has acted in nearly 40 movies. She became a teen star in the 1995 comedy hit, Clueless. Silverstone’s subsequent film roles include playing Batgirl in Batman & Robin,Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Diary of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul and Book Club. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the series Miss Match, and has performed in dozens of other TV shows. A vegan, she has endorsed PETA and also published a vegan cookbook, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet. She is the devoted mother of Bear Blu, her 9-year-old son. In an homage to Silverstone’s hit comedy, in the first episode of the new series, Kristy says of her mom, “I guess she wasn’t totally clueless.”
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Feuerstein, 49, is an actor, writer, producer, and director. He had a guest appearance in Season 2 of Sex and the City and went on to act in the acclaimed NBC drama The West Wing from 2001-2005. More recently, he starred in the USA Network’s Royal Pains from 2009-2016. He co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in the CBS comedy 9JKL. He is married to TV writer Dana Klein, and they reside in L.A. with their three children, Lila, Frisco, and Addie.
Are the five actresses from The Baby-Sitters Club friends in real life?
Yes! Like their onscreen counterparts, Netflix shared that these actresses have developed “genuine friendships” and they are happy to stay in touch when they are not filming the show, although they live in different cities.
What is happening with the role of Dawn, the passionate member of the group?
Kyndra Sanchez will take over the role of Dawn Schafer from that was Xochitl Gomez. Gomez had to step down due to conflicts with her role in Doctor Strange 2, in which she will play teen superhero America Chavez opposite Benedict Cumberbatch. A rising film and TV star at 19, she is best known for her role as Yoli Greenberg in the 2021 Netflix film Finding Ohana. Her professional acting debut took place in 2016 with Dora and Friends: Into the City. He had a role on TV’s Butterbean’s Café.
Are there new cast members in Season 2 of The Baby-Sitters Club?
Yes, the girls club is expanding. Sanchez (taking over the role of Dawn), and Vivian Watson playing Mallory, and Anais Lee portraying Jessi, are joining the cast; so now there will be seven members of the heart-felt club in the family-oriented series.
Is there a Baby-Sitters Club Season 2 trailer?
Yes. And it reveals many twists and turns, and rites of passage for our beloved BFFs – Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Dawn and their two new pals.
What new adventures can we expect from Season 2 of The Baby-Sitters Club?
The new season brings a new school year and it brings a blossoming business, new relationships, and many life lessons, while in keeping with the books and the heart of the show, these BFFs are there for every smile and heartbreak. In season 2, we can look forward to the girls becoming more mature as well as the club evolving and growing. It is a great time to head back to the town of Stoneybrook and for the club to return to its lovable business. “There are two new members [of the club], they’re all a year older and have more experience running a business, deeper friendships, and are growing into a deeper understanding of themselves as people,” Rachel Shukert, the executive producer and series creator recently revealed to Deadline. “We also wanted to continue exploring themes that allow all young viewers to see themselves represented on screen,” Shukert, who is also known for the show GLOW, told Deadline, “While also dealing obliquely with many of the things we’ve all been through in the past year: loss, change, responsibility, and trying to find joy and meaning in unexpected places”
Who wrote the Baby-Sitters Club books and what has she said about the new TV show?
Ann M. Martin is the author of The Baby-Sitters Club and she also served as a producer on the Netflix series. She was pleased that from the beginning, the creative team talked about making the series more reflective of communities today to mirror the world of 2020, rather than the world of 1986 when the books first came out. “I’m amazed that there are so many passionate fans of The Baby-Sitters Club after all these years, and I’m honored that I continue to hear from readers–now grown, who have become writers, editors, teachers, librarians, and filmmakers–who say that they see a reflection of themselves in the characters of Kristy and her friends,” Martin said in a Netflix release. “So, I’m very excited about the forthcoming series, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere."
What was the inspiration for the bestselling Baby-Sitters Club book series?
The Baby-Sitters Club is a timely story of female friendship, entrepreneurialism, and empowerment. Martin started the series in 1986. It focuses on the fact that “babysitting isn’t always easy, but neither is dealing with strict parents, new families, fashion emergencies and mysterious secrets,” Martin originally wrote. “But no matter what, these club members have what they need most in life; friendship. The title of each episode is based on a book from the series.”
Who is the team behind the new show?
The adaptation was led by Rachel Shukert (Glow) as showrunner and Lucia Aniello (Broad City) as executive producer/director. Shukert and Aniello, both longtime fans of the book series, say that the representation of female friendships in these classic novels has long-inspired their careers.
How will Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club be different than the books and the original movie?
“I wanted the cast to be more diverse, and I couldn’t be happier with the cast they assembled,” Martin said, according to Netflix. “I also wanted to cover some topics that we hadn’t covered in the series when it first came out; topics that probably matter to a lot of kids now, but weren’t even talked about back then.” “The Baby-Sitters Club books, especially for their time, were very inclusive,” Shukert explained in a recent Netflix release. “And we want all kids and families watching this show to feel represented. I think in a very natural way, we pushed the stories more into the present day.” Aniello refers to Shukert and herself as “the babysitters to The Baby-Sitters Club series." “We’re bringing these stories to the next generation,” she said. Aniello said they are making sure the series is still “fun and cool, but it also feels modern. We’re hoping to give the audience–both longtime fans of the books and new fans–something both fresh and familiar.” Shukert loved “thinking about each of the characters and translating them into the present,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “If you take a kid like Kristy who in the 80s was this sporty tomboy, who is she in the world now? She’s like this girl boss. Who is Dawn, somebody who was a vegetarian and paved the way for that in the ’80s? Now we’re at this time where she might be somebody with a real social justice bent, an activist about the environment and about income inequality. and stuff like that.” She added to EW, “Just bringing them into modernity was really interesting, thinking about how we could tell these stories through a modern lens.” “We’re in this moment where it’s really nice to see the stories of young women who are leaders in their community and their friendships with each other and their families are so important to them,” Aniello explained to EW. “Hopefully, we’ll set a really great example for a new generation, the way that the books did for ours.”
How to watch and stream The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2
Season 2 of The Baby-Sitters Club will be streaming on Netflix exclusively. You’ll be able to watch the entire season’s eight episodes starting October 11. Want more stories about female bonding? JoAnna Garcia Swisher talks about why Sweet Magnolias is hitting a “soft spot in people’s hearts.”
