Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club series casts Alicia Silverstone and Mark Feuerstein. Some 30 years after the original YA book series was released, Netflix is moving forward with a TV adaptation of the highly popular stories, which involve a close-knit group of teenage girls in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut.
The Baby-Sitters Club was created by author Ann M. Martin and first published back in 1986. Since then, Martin has written a total of 35 books and the series has gained immense popularity, selling over 180 million copies worldwide. With its five main characters of Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill and Dawn Schafer, The Baby-Sitters Club stories focus on the entrepreneurial teens, while also dealing with issues of divorce, illness and the challenging adjustments of teenage life. Netflix announced the new dramedy earlier this year, but to date there's been no information on the cast.
Now with filming currently underway for the 10-episode series, THR has revealed two of the casting decisions. Alicia Silverstone (American Woman, Clueless) and Mark Feuerstein (Prison Break, Royal Pains) are all set to join the new Baby-Sitters Club adaptation. Silverstone will play Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer, mother of Baby-Sitters Club member Kristy Thomas. Feuerstein, meanwhile will portray Elizabeth’s love interest, Watson Brewer. The series currently has no confirmed release date.
While the series will mark its debut with Netflix, this isn’t the first time that The Baby-Sitters Club has been adapted into a live action retelling. The books were turned into a 13-episode TV series on HBO in 1990, which only lasted for one season. Though the series lived on in syndication on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, there hasn’t been another attempt to revive it for television until now. There was, however, a feature film made in 1995, though it fared poorly at the box office and among critics. The new series will hopefully learn from the mistakes of these past efforts and work to deliver something more timely and engaging for its audience. So far we know that Netflix’s Baby-Sitters Club will deal with issues such as racism, divorce and belonging, while reportedly appealing to children, teens and adults alike.
If there’s one thing that Netflix has consistently proven over the years, it’s that it isn’t afraid to take risks on new programming. Despite the ongoing success of The Baby-Sitters Club novels, the series has yet to really connect with audiences when adapted to television or the big screen. Netflix hopes to remedy that, and while it’s great to see them transforming the books into something that still works today, endeavoring to take a series like this and adapt it for children, teens and adults is no small task. That said, if The Baby-Sitters Club can lock into the issues and emotions that many are feeling in today’s increasingly confusing world, then success could be in the cards.
Source: THR