Why was The Baby-Sitters Club canceled at Netflix?

Babysitter Club is a critically acclaimed Netflix Original series based on the popular and beloved children’s novel series written by Ann M. Martin. Over the course of its two seasons, the show received the incredibly rare perfect approval score of 100% for both seasons.

But despite the acclaim, Netflix decided to cancel the show in March 2022, disappointing fans. As usual with Netflix series, the streaming service did not immediately detail why the show was cancelled, but Deadline reported that the most likely reason behind the streaming service’s decision was poor ratings.

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

Baby-Sitters Club season 2 has failed to surpass Nielsen’s weekly streaming Top 10 chart

Despite becoming one of Netflix’s best-reviewed original series and garnering a loyal following, Babysitter Club did not attract a large audience. Deadline reports that the show’s second season (released October 11, 2021) has failed to break through the Nielsen weekly streaming Top 10 chart. Additionally, the season only entered the Netflix Top 10 for a week at number nine.

It’s hard to say why Babysitter Club didn’t get better ratings, but I think Bloody Disgusting’s editor-in-chief John Squires had a good point in his tweet about the series.

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

Perhaps at some point 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 or launching an alternative series.