The Baby-Sitters Club (2020)

The Baby-Sitters Club is not a heavy show — quite the opposite — but its attention to these issues is very thoughtful and reveals just how compassionate the baby-sitters are. The kids are all right indeed.

This newest adaptation is a dream. Like its namesake, The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix edition) is funny, sweet, and emotionally complex. ... The Baby-Sitters Club’s five young leads truly carry the series, grounding characters that could easily turn into broad types and making them each feel complicated and awkward and real.

It’s honestly rare to watch a show and not just feel fully confident about being able to recommend it to anyone, regardless of gender or age, but say that it should be watched by everyone. Young women deserve to be taken seriously. And so does this show.

Watching a group of intrepid young women start a business, deal with irresponsible teens, and get their homework done is a level of responsibility to which we should all aspire. On top of that, Shukert and company truly understand what made the series and these character so relatable and beloved by a generation. With everything happening in the world, “The Baby-Sitters Club” is pure summer fun.

It assumed I had the emotional intelligence and the circa-2020 compassion to deeply empathize with five girls who are dealing with the daily chaos of friendship and tweenage existence. Nothing is overly explained, just dramatically experienced. ... The writing is top-notch. The production is meticulous. The child acting is mostly fine.

"Baby-Sitters" is a near-perfect distillation of what made the book series sell millions of copies. The series is optimistic but not deluded, youthful but not juvenile and sweet but not mawkish. Its quintet of young actresses (the original four sitters and one mid-season addition) are talented beyond their years, but the dialogue never makes them sound like 40-year-old Hollywood scriptwriters.

It’s a richly character-based story about growing up, dealing with change, growing apart from and back together with friends. It’s sweet but not cloying, smart but not cynical, full-hearted and funny enough to please both grown readers of the original books and the young target audience of the new series — and even plenty of viewers (like me) who are neither. ... The result is pretty magical.

I'm delighted to find that Netflix's 10-episode adaptation of the series is not only warm and effervescent — it's downright among the best shows the streaming platform has produced to date.

If you were attempting to tell a story in these dreary days about the rewards of believing in the best of people, you could do no better than the smart, affirmative joy that’s found in Netflix’s fresh take on “The Baby-Sitters Club,” a 10-episode drama aimed squarely at the tweenage-girl set, but willing to share its goodwill with anyone who needs a lift. ... A watchable treat.

Isn’t an anachronism so much as a tonic. ... The show strikes a shrewd balance between earnestness and humor, freshness and nostalgia, fidelity to Martin’s beloved characters and awareness of how much has changed since her books dominated girl culture at the end of the 20th century. ... This may all sound painstakingly woke on paper, but nothing feels forced about these updates. The main cast is spirited and authentic.

While some may call these tweaks an attempt to be more timely, watching them unfold makes it obvious how timeless these stories really are. All are rooted in character; the lessons learned are direct and compassionate; the explanations are clear in a way that acknowledges children’s capacity to understand and empathize. So much of this new “Baby-Sitters Club” speaks to the care that went into it.

The most comforting, delightful stretch of viewing I’ve had in the last few months. ... [The cast] are fantastic together — a believably middle-school-aged group of friends who are idealistic, loving, deeply feeling, occasionally annoying, sometimes mistaken kids. ... It is a vision of The Baby-Sitters Club that smartly updates it for the world of 2020, without also sacrificing the innate warmth and optimism of the original books.

These tweens might have a knack for business and childcare, but, ultimately, they’re still girls. The Baby-Sitters Club simply gives viewers the privilege of seeing them grow up—if only during the span of middle school. While TV shows for adults routinely feature characters making bad decisions without reflection or remorse, the tweens in this reboot work through their pain and learn from their shortcomings. Witnessing this kind of self-growth is inspirational, whether the viewer is a kid or an adult.

The patter of life in Stonybrook is almost strenuously amiable, full of productive lessons to learn and pretty houses in which pleasant people dwell. But within that gentle framing, Shukert and her writing staff find plenty of complexity and shading, smoothly reshaping the now slightly dated vernacular of Martin’s era into something that makes responsible sense in 2020. Again, this is a show for kids (and, yes, nostalgic adults), and its approach to that demographic’s interests is neither harsh nor dishonestly rosy.

A funny, fresh reimagining. Building on Martin’s solid, good-hearted tales, it maintains a contemporary feel without losing the old-fashioned charm at its heart.

This latest adaptation brings The Baby-Sitters Club into the modern era without sacrificing the wholesome ideals at its core.