Why was The Baby-Sitters Club canceled?

The Baby-Sitters Club is a critically-acclaimed Netflix Original series based on the popular and beloved children’s novel series written by Ann M. Martin. Throughout its two-season run, the show received an exceedingly rare perfect approval score of 100% for both seasons.

But despite the acclaim, Netflix opted to cancel the show in March 2022, devastating fans. As is often the case with Netflix series, the streaming service didn’t immediately detail why the show had been canceled, but Deadline reported that the most likely reason behind the streaming service’s decision was due to its poor ratings.

The Netflix series is not the first media adaptation of Martin’s novels. Previously, the show spawned a 13-episode television season that aired on HBO and Nickelodeon. A film based on the books was released in 1995.

The Baby-Sitters Club season 2 failed to crack Nielsen’s Top 10 weekly streaming rankings

Despite becoming one of Netflix’s best-reviewed original series and cultivating a loyal fan following, The Baby-Sitters Club has not been able to attract a wide audience. Deadline reports that the show’s second season (released on October 11, 2021) failed to crack Nielsen’s Top 10 weekly streaming rankings. Additionally, the season only managed to make Netflix’s Top 10 for one week in position number nine.

It’s hard to say why The Baby-Sitters Club did not receive better ratings, but I think Bloody Disgusting editor-in-chief John Squires made a good point in his tweet regarding the series.

The Baby-Sitters Club is an iconic property that has been around for a long time. It’s hard to believe it wouldn’t have found a larger audience if Netflix had promoted and marketed the series better. Many fans of the original books didn’t even know a show existed until the news of its cancellation broke.

Perhaps sometime in the future, Netflix will return to the show, or the rights will be sold to another production company who could try rebooting the series again or launching a film series instead.