Trivia / The Baby-Sitters Club (2020)

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Takayo Fischer, like her character Mimi in this adaptation, not only is Japanese-American as well but was also forced to go to Japanese-American internment camps as a child. John, Claudia and Janine's actors have Japanese ancestry as well, though they're Canadians.
  • Malia Baker is biracial, like Mary Anne is in this adaptation.
• Author Appeal: A few writers that worked on "Kristy's Big Day" have Jewish backgrounds. There are multiple jokes in the episode about David Michael wanting to step on the glass even though it isn't a Jewish wedding.
• California Doubling: Despite being set in preppy and at times frigid suburban Connecticut, the series was shot in the much warmer and socially liberal Vancouver.
• The Cast Showoff: Aya Furukawa grew up bilingual and so also speaks fluent Japanese. As Janine, she gets to speak Japanese on-screen with Mimi, who's recovering from a stroke and speaking in her mother language as a result.
• Fake American: While most of the cast is American, several of them are not:
  • Multiple actors are Canadian, including Malia Baker (Mary Anne), Momona Tamada (Claudia), and Aya Furukawa (Janine).
  • British-born Canadian actress Sophia Reid-Gantzert portrays Karen.
• Fake Nationality: Claudia's mother is Japanese-American, while her actress Diana Bang is Korean-Canadian.
• The Other Darrin:
  • Kyndra Sanchez was cast as Dawn after Season 1, since the original actress Xochitl Gomez joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as America Chavez and was unable to return to the series for Season 2 due to scheduling conflicts with the filming of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
  • Troy Ames replaced Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Andrew in Season 2 due to the latter filming Peter Pan & Wendy.
• Promoted Fangirl: Before being cast as Mary Anne, Malia Baker was already a fan of the original series. Her mother read the books in her youth and held on to them, which is how Malia discovered the series.
• Queer Character, Queer Actor: Mary Anne's baby-sitting charge Bailey is a trans girl. Her actress, Kai Shappley, is also a trans girl and was the focus of the documentary Trans in America: Texas Strong. According to her mom, Kai was specifically sought for the role.
• Self-Adaptation: The author of the books, Ann M. Martin, also acts as one of the producers of this adaptation.

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