The Baby-Sitters Club: Sweet & Sassy

Last year, I binged the first season of The Baby-Sitters Club and was delighted. But it was 2020 and I was bingeing all the things in a desperate effort to distract myself, so I never got around to blogging about it. Well, now the second season is on Netflix, and yet again, I was so charmed that I simply had to write a review. If you've been sleeping on this show, wake up and give it a shot. It is so worth it. 

Most women my age probably encountered the Baby-Sitters Club book series as children. I was more of a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys person, but I do recall reading a few of these books. The premise is simple enough: Kristy (Sophie Grace) decides to start a club with her friends where they will babysit for the neighborhood kids and make money off the desperate parents looking for a night out on the town. In each episode, a different girl takes the spotlight, sharing a story of who she is and what’s going on with her family at the time, and it all adds up to a shockingly good time. Kristy has a lot going on since her mother (the ever-charming Alicia Silverstone) is in a relationship with a wealthy man (the equally charming Mark Feuerstein) and their family might have to adjust to a whole new way of life. There's Mary Anne (Malia Baker) who is biracial and lost her mother at a young age so must deal with her wildly overprotective white father (played by the always fantastic Marc Evan Jackson) and tell him that maybe she would like her hair to be done a bit differently now that she's older. There's Claudia (Momona Tamada), who is Japanese-American and has a lovely relationship with her grandma (the adorable Takayo Fischer) even if she can't quite relate to the rest of her family. Stacey (Shay Rudolph) is the new girl from New York City who seems very fancy but has a whole tale to tell about why she had to move to Stoneybrook, Connecticut. And finally, there's Dawn (played by Xochitl Gomez in season 1 and Kyndra Sanchez in season 2), a Hispanic-American who moved from Los Angeles and is all about embracing socialism and progressive causes. 

This show is deceptively amazing. It is rated G (not even PG!), which is extraordinary in this day and age, but despite being so family-friendly, it still packs in so much wisdom and modern-day sass. My favorite line from the second season was in response to someone saying another girl was so nice: "Yes, this isn't an 80s movie, coolness and cruelty are no longer synonymous!" There's also an aside about how Kristy, who is white, was crowned as a beautiful baby in the town's annual Baby Parade instead of Claudia and Maryanne, thereby signaling how "white mediocrity" triumphed over "babies of color." These girls are interesting, diverse, and fierce feminists in their own special ways, and while the things they are struggling with can be very particular to the growing pains of adolescence, the lessons they learn are applicable to anyone regardless of age. Whether it’s coping with anxiety, a chronic illness, complex interpersonal dynamics, divorce, or first love, there is a lot to digest here in terms of how to be a human and how to survive in this world. All told with pitch perfect production values and cozy scripts.

The casting on The Baby-Sitters Club is excellent and creator Rachel Shukert, along with her team of writers and directors, does a remarkable job of updating these books for a modern audience while preserving the innate charm of these characters and the setting for those who need to indulge in some nostalgia. The show is an inexpressible comfort that isn’t quite an escapist fantasy, imparting valuable lessons and making you feel less despairing of humanity. I know it might seem corny, but seriously, you won't know what you're missing until you've tried it. Underneath that chipper exterior, there lies a depth of feeling and warmth that will seep right into your bones. Now that winter is coming, isn’t that a feeling we are all desperately seeking?