'Reading Rainbow' is back! Viral librarian Mychal Threets to host beloved series Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY September 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM 0 Mychal Threets attends the 2025 TIME100 Creators launch party at Gansevoort Rooftop on July 10, 2025, in New York City.
- - 'Reading Rainbow' is back! Viral librarian Mychal Threets to host beloved series
Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY September 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
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Mychal Threets attends the 2025 TIME100 Creators launch party at Gansevoort Rooftop on July 10, 2025, in New York City.
Take a look, "Reading Rainbow" is back for a new generation of book lovers.
Mychal Threets, the viral librarian and content creator, will host the revamped PBS children's series, which has been off the air since 2006.
"After nearly 20 years… Reading Rainbow is returning to motivate, help, and encourage kids to become avid readers with new episodes, new friends, new projects, and of course… new books!" the series captioned a collaborative Instagram post on Monday, Sept. 29.
Threets, the joyful librarian known for his big hair and colorful shirts, gained notoriety during the pandemic on TikTok and Instagram, where he charmed users with his message of the importance of libraries as an inclusive and welcoming space. His videos quickly drew comparisons to Mister Rogers and original "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton. The "Star Trek" and "Roots" actor hosted for 21 seasons, from 1983 to 2006.
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James Patterson and joyful librarian Mychal Threets talk new librarians and book bans
The latest version of the Emmy Award-winning series will not air on PBS, according to Heather Hare, senior director of communications for Buffalo Toronto Public Media. The new "Reading Rainbow" will air as a digital series, kicking off with four weekly short-form episodes on Saturday mornings, starting Oct. 4. Episodes will be distributed by the Sony Pictures Television YouTube channel KidZuko and on ReadingRainbow.org.
In 2024, the Bay Area, California, native resigned from his longtime local library to focus on his mental health. The resignation followed a sudden backlash from what fans deemed as trolls and bullies, though Threets assured followers the decision wasn't made due to "people who resort to darkness as they pursue their light."
Threets has continued to share educational and book-related content to his 880,000 Instagram followers and 812,000 TikTok followers. He has also since started an online book club, launched the podcast "Thoughts About Feelings" and is preparing to publish a children's book, "I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy," in 2026.
'It's embarrassing': 'Reading Rainbow' host LeVar Burton fires back at rise in banned books
"I don't believe it's me and my message that they're attracted to, but I think what they're attracted to is library joy," Threets told USA TODAY in 2024. "Which as much as I'm obsessed with library joy, library joy is not mine, it's every library assistant, library shelver, librarian, library lover, school librarian. It's all their joy."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Reading Rainbow' back with new host, viral librarian Mychal
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