Welcome to Stoneybrook, Connecticut! The Baby-Sitters Club are officially in business as Kristy, Mary-Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and Dawn all come together to create the best babysitting service that this town has ever seen. Fans have been waiting for months to hear about the latest Baby-Sitters Club TV series that Netflix has been working on and now it's finally time to meet the girls who will be bringing these iconic characters to life.
In an exclusive reveal for Seventeen, the new girls of The Baby-Sitters Club talk about their characters and what they're most excited for fans of the books to see. So get ready to meet your brand new BFFs. Here is everything you need to know about the cast of the The Baby-Sitters Club. Plus, check out the official first look of the girls in action below.
Sophie Grace as Kristy Thomas
17: How would you describe Kristy?
SG: "Kristy is an incredibly smart and creative and driven person. She is a natural leader and she's really cool! Kristy has such a big and kind heart and she always means well. But sometimes, she can get a little bit ahead of herself at times when she's trying to take charge of the situation."
17: How are you most like Kristy?
SG: "My personality is the most like her. I'm a natural leader. I'm a goal-setter."
17: How are you different from Kristy?
SG: "Well, Kristy is an extremely athletic and sporty character. And it's kind of ironic because I'm from a really big sporty family. I'm the only person that doesn't like sports and here I am on TV playing the sporty person."
17: What are you most excited for fans to see?
SG: "Kristy has a dog! I've never gotten to work with a dog on set on set and I love dogs. I have two dogs of my own, and honestly, it might have been the highlight of the whole season. That dog was the sweetest dog I've ever met, and I got to carry little treats in my pocket so he could follow me around."
Malia Baker as Mary-Anne Spier
17: How would you describe Mary-Anne?
MB: "Well, Mary-Anne is very shy. She has a lot of inner dialogue and she's funny without even knowing it."
17: How are you most like Mary-Anne?
MB: "Deep down, I'm a shy person and Mary-Anne is shy too. Of course, I can overcome that when I'm acting though. And I'm somehow funny without knowing that I am, so my friends and my mom will be laughing and I'll be like, 'No, but I was serious. Like, I'm serious right now.'"
17: How are you different from Mary-Anne?
MB: "Mary-Anne doesn't state her opinions and she's less confident than I am. When my opinion is welcome and I can state it clearly, I'll do that and I'll have debates, while Mary-Anne does not do that. She wouldn't even dare."
17: What are you most excited for fans to see?
MB: "Probably Mary-Anne's episode. I can't tell you what it's about or what's in it, but I really enjoy that one."
Momona Tamada as Claudia Kishi
17: How would you describe Claudia?
MT: "Claudia is super creative. She is artsy and probably the most fashionable one out of all the girls. She definitely struggles with some academic things, but she figures them out using her creativity which is super cool."
17: How are you most like Claudia?
MB: "I definitely related to Claudia a lot [growing up]. I always leaned towards the creative side of school, and when I read the books, because she's a Japanese-American character and because I'm Japanese-Canadian, I definitely got to see myself in the series. Which was a first because there weren't really many Asian characters that I could read about when I was younger."
17: How are you different from Claudia?
MB: "Unlike Claudia, I actually do get very good grades. [laughs] She probably has a crazier fashion sense than I do. But her fashion sense, I think has affected my personal outfit choices, and I always see how different things can come together and they don't always have to be expensive — it can just be thrifty and super fun."
17: What are you most excited for fans to see?
MB: "It's such an honor to be able to bring Claudia to life. I think about all the girls that read the books and are going to watch this series and how they will be able to connect with one of the characters or maybe two of them. All our characters are so different, so I think every single girl can relate to them in different ways."
Shay Rudolph as Stacey McGill
17: How would you describe Stacey?
SR: "Stacey McGill is a really savvy girl who moves to Stoneybrook from New York. She really really cares about her friends, and she's a total fashionista as well."
17: How are you most like Stacey?
SR: "I think we're actually pretty similar. Through being able to portray Stacey, I've learned that she's not all about fashion and boys. She really, really cares about her friendships and she's a really genuine, loving person. I think that's a really great trait that we both share."
17: How are you different from Stacey?
SR: "She's pretty boy crazy and I'm not so much."
17: What are you most excited for fans to see?
SR: "I think it will be really exciting for people to see how Stacey grows in this new environment, because she's not from Stoneybrook. She's a big city girl. She doesn't know anybody when she first moves there, so I think to see her grow and open up and flourish is really cool!"
Xochitl Gomez as Dawn Shaefer
17: How would you describe Dawn?
XG: "She's chill and she's laid back. She has a lot of confidence. She puts her friends first. She's very empathetic and has a passion for being an activist and making the world better."
17: How are you most like Dawn?
XG: "We're both very confident and very chill and kind of have this relaxed vibe that is different from all the other girls."
17: How are you different from Dawn?
XG: "For me, it would be the activism because I didn't really think about that because I'm so young. But seeing how Dawn does that has opened my eyes."
17: What are you most excited for fans to see?
XG: "[I’m most excited] for my character — she's Latina. I think it's important that it's shown because not many Latina girls are out there [on TV]. So I feel like having her as a character is really great and can really open some doors. It's wonderful that they included a Hispanic family in the story and it's a great way to reflect how diverse our culture has become, and it's just an honor to like represent Dawn."
Tamara Fuentes is the current Entertainment Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers TV, movies, books, celebrities, and more. She can often be found in front of a screen fangirling about something new. Before joining Cosmopolitan, she was the entertainment editor over at Seventeen. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
