Young readers can once again be like butterflies in the sky.
“Reading Rainbow,” a show that previously aired on PBS and was hosted by the beloved actor LeVar Burton, is returning nearly two decades after it ended its original run.
But this time around, a new host is taking the helm: Mychal Threets, the internet’s favorite librarian and literacy advocate.
The former Solano County, Calif. Library supervisor, who has gained a massive following online in recent years, became known for sharing daily interactions at the library and talking openly about his mental health challenges.
Launched in July 1983, “Reading Rainbow” was created as a way to motivate children to find joy in reading during summer recess from school, according to ReadingRainbow.org. It won a Peabody Award and multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. After 21 seasons and 155 episodes, the show was canceled in November 2006.
News of the show’s return was announced on the Instagram account for “Reading Rainbow,” as well as on the accounts for Threets and Boston Toronto Public Media, which launched the original series.
“Take a look, it’s in a book,” the caption for the Instagram post read. “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 new iteration of the show will feature a handful of celebrity guest stars, including “The Bear” actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach and “Dancing with the Stars” dancers Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa.
“We’re so excited to start exploring the world of books together,” Threets said in the Instagram video.
In an interview with NBC News last year, Threets shared the impact that that books can have on someone’s life, crediting them with bringing him joy in his most anxious moments.
“Books are that constant friend in the battle with your own mind,” he said.
Threets credited his love for literature to Burton.
“I am a reader, I am a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow so powerfully made us believe we belong in books, we belong everywhere,” he wrote in a post on Threads on Tuesday. “I am so happy for all of us that Reading Rainbow is returning! YOU all did this!”
New episodes will premiere every Saturday at 10 a.m. ET during the month of October on the KidZuko, a kid’s YouTube channel from Sony Pictures Television. They will also be available on Reading Rainbow’s website.