Netflix has today given a series order to an adaptation of Ann M. Martin's best-selling book franchise The Baby-Sisters Club. The first season will produce 10 episodes.
The family-friendly dramedy is a modern take on female friendship, entrepreneurialism and empowerment following friends Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, Stacey McGill and Dawn Schafer in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. The series will tackle themes around divorce, racism and belonging.
Rachel Shukert (GLOW) will serve as showrunner on the adaptation. She will executive produce with Michael De Luca, Lucy Kitada and director Lucia Aniello. Martin will serve as a producer. De Luca Productions and Walden Media will produce.
"The themes of The Baby-Sitters Club still resonate 30 years after the original book series was released, and there has never been a more opportune time to tell an aspirational story about empowering young female entrepreneurs," said Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Kids and Family Programming, Netflix. "Together with Ann M. Martin and the team at Walden Media, our ambition is to contemporize the storylines and adventures of this iconic group of girlfriends to reflect modern-day issues."
"I'm amazed that there are so many passionate fans of The Baby-Sitters Club after all these years, and I'm honored to continue to hear from readers - now grown, who have become writers, editors, teachers, librarians, filmmakers - who say that they see a reflection of themselves in the characters of Kristy and her friends," added Martin. "So I'm very excited about the forthcoming series on Netflix, which I hope will inspire a new generation of readers and leaders everywhere."
