The Recently Canceled THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB Netflix Series Creator Talks About the Rumored Follow-Up Movie
The TV series The Baby-Sitters Club, based on the ever-popular book series of the same name by Ann M. Martin, has been canceled at Netflix. Although the series had solid viewership numbers, it was canceled after its second season, to the surprise of the show’s creator, Rachel Shukert. Since the announcement that the series would not be returning for a third season, some people have wondered if we might see a film be made out of some of the remaining material.
Shukert recently sat down with Vulture to talk about whether a film was ever a possibility, and what we might have seen from the third season, if it had been given a green light. Shukert said:
“I mean, I would love that. I think it will be complicated. The girls are getting older quickly, and we never expected this to go more than probably three seasons because we knew the girls were going to age out of those characters. Scholastic and Ann [M. Martin, creator of the Baby-Sitters Club books] have always been very clear that they don’t want the characters to age. They’re trapped in amber — she wrote the books for 16 years, and they never got older.
There’s been talk of trying to do a movie, but we didn’t make the show with Netflix. We made the show with an outside studio, Walden Media, who is so wonderful. Even if another streamer wanted to do it, I don’t know that they could have the first two seasons on their platform. It might be difficult. Even if that could be resolved — and potentially it could — the question is can you get everybody’s new contracts done, all of these new scripts and deals …”
Of what fans could have expected from a third season, she explained:
“I really wanted to do a Super Special. I was trying to figure out, Should they go to New York? Should they get snowed in? It depended on where they would let us shoot, and I was excited about telling a story that would see them into high school — not wrap everything up but honor what we made. Season two ends on a pretty good note. It’s emotionally satisfying. But we had more stories to tell, and I miss the girls. I loved working with them. They’re extraordinary actresses and people.”
Honestly, hearing that the series had a solid fanbase, and its creator was only asking for a three-season arc, it makes zero sense that the streamer wouldn’t have just let her do one more season of the show! It seems petty, and it’s too bad that it ended just short of her plan. Maybe she will be able to find the series a new home before time runs out on the actresses aging out of the roles, but for now, The Baby-Sitters Club Seasons 1-2 are available to watch on Netflix.