Varun Patel
The power of television and cinema cannot be understated. Stories one grows up watching often stay etched in one’s mind, subconsciously directing one’s moral sphere. Think of movies like ‘Harry Potter‘ and how they shape an entire generation’s thought process. Similarly, the series of books, ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ by Ann M. Martin had a comparable effect on an entire generation of young girls. The Netflix series of the same name attempts to recreate that magic so that another generation might consume the delightful story in their most preferred medium.
The story revolves around a bunch of girls living in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. The friends soon realize that babysitting is a rather in-demand profession. They start an agency of sorts among themselves to provide babysitting services to the town’s residents. Apart from that, they face all the conflicts that regular girls going through puberty would face: crushes, social anxiety, and more serious issues as well. Together, everything combines to form a rather heart-touching palette. You can watch several of these shows like ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
7. Glee (2009-2015)
‘Glee’ might be for slightly older audiences but its musical premise has been uplifting for many. The show revolves around a high school teacher who attempts to train a school’s glee club. She attempts to inspire them to participate and win the biggest competition of all. Along the way, the students go through their routine high-school troubles which are accentuated by song-and-dance to charmingly effective levels. The series has received acclaim from critics and viewers alike.
6. Stranger Things (2016-)
‘Stranger Things‘ has become no less than a phenomenon. The Netflix original’s popularity does not need to be explained as the show has found love among its intended, young audience as well as adults. Its nostalgia-inducing setting combines perfectly well with a group-of-early-teen-detectives supernatural mystery premise. The small-town feel is not lost too. As a result, ‘Stranger Things’ presents viewers with a gripping yet comfortable story that takes one back to their childhood days.
5. Greenhouse Academy (2017-)
Like ‘The Baby-Sitters Club,’ ‘Greenhouse Academy‘ is a coming-of-age show that uses an external conflict to highlight the emotional journey of growing up. The series employs a rather heartbreaking premise at its core but manages to present an uplifting tone despite that. The show revolves around the siblings Alex and Hayley Woods who lose their astronaut mother in a rocket explosion. When they join a private boarding school, they enroll in separate houses, becoming rivals. However, the two sides end up coming together to investigate a conspiracy involving the usage of earthquakes for money-making purposes.
4. Alexa and Katie (2018-)
Female friendships have hardly been depicted in full breadth on screen. There is a definite imbalance between the portrayal of male-to-male camaraderie and female-to-female platonic relationships. Fortunately, that is changing. Similar to ‘The Baby-Sitters Club,’ ‘Alexa and Katie’ is driven by female friendship at its core. The titular characters of the series are depicted to be entering high-school. However, when one of them gets cancer, the other shaves off her hair in support. The result: they end up being super-awkward in school.
3. Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
‘Saved by the Bell’ is easily one of the most iconic teenage shows of all time. We are pretty sure almost everyone reading this article must have heard of this classic. It mainly revolves around a love triangle between Zack, Slater, and Kelly. However, there are other characters, of course, and a larger teenage conflict tone is what makes the show memorable.
2. Project Mc² (2015-)
The core premise of ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ is a bunch of girls running a babysitting agency to help out others. The core premise of ‘Project Mc²’ on the other hand, revolves around a bunch of extremely smart girls using science to save the day. The girls are depicted to be working for a government organization known as NOV8 which consists of a group of secret girl agents attempting to save the world.
1. The Hard Times of RJ Berger (2010-)
Once again, ‘The Hard Times of RJ Berger’ is an entry on this list that is slightly more mature than ‘The Baby-Sitters Club.’ However, the level of awkwardness on the show is the biggest reason we think it is highly similar to ‘The Baby-Sitters Club.’ The series revolves around an unpopular high school kid who is generally anxious around his peers. This level of (realistic) anxiety is also witnessed in ‘The Baby-Sitters Club.’
Read More: Best Teen Shows on Netflix
