The Baby-Sitters Club Season 2 - What We Know So Far

Fans of the well-received "The Baby-Sitters Club," one of the few Netflix shows to earn a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, have eagerly awaited news about Season 2. While Netflix announced the renewal of the series for a second season back in October 2020, per Deadline, the streaming service neglected to offer a release date, leaving fans in limbo.

Season 1 of "The Baby-Sitters Club," based on the series of young adult novels by Ann M. Martin, follows the adventures of a group of girls entering the seventh grade who start a babysitting business. While the show uses the club as a starting point for many of their hijinks, its true center is the girls' friendship and the challenges of adolescence. "The Baby-Sitters Club" manages to mix a modern setting with subtle homages to the source material, such as the girls' purchase of a landline phone off Etsy in the show's premiere.

Thankfully, fans will not have to wait too much longer to reunite with the entrepreneurially-minded girls from Stoneybrook, as Netflix has finally given some reliable information about when "The Baby-Sitters Club" will be back. Here is everything that fans need to know about the release date, cast, and plot of Season 2.

After keeping the release date for "The Baby-Sitters Club" under wraps for the better part of a year, Netflix has finally announced that the next set of episodes will go live on October 22, 2021, via Deadline.

When Season 2 arrives in its full binge-able glory, viewers will have eight new episodes to enjoy. The town of Stoneybrook and the titular Baby-Sitters Club itself will be growing a little bigger, as Deadline notes that three new cast members are joining the show.

Fans have plenty of time to catch up on Season 1, available exclusively on Netflix, before the late October premiere date of Season 2. Debuting near the end of 2021 will mean that nearly a year and a half have passed since Season 1 first aired, so anyone who binged it right when it came out might be due for another viewing. 

Most of the original cast of "The Baby-Sitters Club" is expected to appear in Season 2. This includes Sophie Grace as the club president, Kristy; Momona Tamada as vice-president, Claudia; Malia Baker as Kristy's best friend and club secretary, Mary Anne; and Shay Rudolph as club treasurer, Stacey. Also purported to return is Rian McCirick as Logan, Mary Anne's potential new boyfriend; Alicia Silverstone as Kristy's mother, Elizabeth; and Mark Feuerstein as Watson, Elizabeth's fiancée.

However, there is one significant change to the cast. When Deadline revealed the release date for "The Baby-Sitters Club," the announcement also noted that Xochitl Gomez, who played Dawn Schafer, would not be returning, as her involvement in the upcoming "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" led to scheduling conflicts. Dawn instead will be played by newcomer Kyndra Sanchez. Also joining the cast are Vivian Watson as Mallory and Anais Lee as Jessi.

While there are likely plenty of surprises waiting in Season 2, the creators of "The Baby-Sitters Club" have dropped some hints as to what fans can expect from the storyline for the next set of episodes.

Speaking to Deadline, series creator and executive producer Rachel Shukert outlined Season 2 in broad strokes. Shukert said, "There are two new members [Mallory and Jessi], they're all a year older and have more experience running a business, deeper friendships, and are growing into a deeper understanding of themselves as people."

Beyond that, Shukart noted that Season 2 would further examine issues that their audience would identify with, including "loss, change, responsibility, and trying to find joy and meaning in unexpected places." In Season 1, "The Baby-Sitters Club" took inspiration (and episode titles) directly from the book series, a pattern they appear to be repeating in Season 2 if the first episode's title, "Kristy and the Snobs," is any indication.

Whatever direction Season 2 of "The Baby-Sitters Club" chooses to take, it will hopefully be another satisfying season filled with female empowerment, babysitting misadventures, and friends triumphing over new challenges.