Finally! A TV Show about Librarians (Sort Of)

Written by Jon Williams

With National Library Week set to kick off on Sunday, what better time than now for the announcement of a new TV series called The Librarians? Coming to the TNT network later this year, the show will continue the story of the highly successful movie trilogy whose installments have aired on the network in 2004, 2006, and 2008, respectively.

The movies starred Noah Wyle (of ER fame) as scholar Flynn Carsen, who’s hired for a post at the Metropolitan Library. Once ensconced in this new job, he must undertake an action-packed Da Vinci Code-type quest to solve cryptic clues to retrieve and then protect a collection of powerful objects and artifacts. He is joined in all three films by Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart, who serve as his mentors in his role as the Librarian.

In the first film, Quest for the Spear, Carsen first takes the job as Librarian and discovers what his new role entails. Soon, a piece of the Spear of Destiny is stolen by Edward Wilde (Kyle MacLachlan), the previous Librarian, and Wyle’s character must recover it and track down the remaining two pieces to keep them out of the hands of evil. The second installment, Return to King Solomon’s Mines, features an amulet that is key to the discovery of the Book of Solomon, which in turn gives its possessor the power to control space and time. Finally, in The Curse of the Judas Chalice, Carsen must try and keep the fabled chalice from a powerful, ancient vampire.

The Librarians will pick up where the last movie left off. While Wyle will appear in his role as Flynn Carsen, he’ll be joined by four new recruits brought in to assist in a role that is growing far too unwieldy for just one person to handle. Chief among the newcomers will be Eve Baird, played by Rebecca Romijn. While both Curtin and Newhart will also be returning, the new ringleader for this group of librarians will be played by veteran actor John Larroquette. This group will be opposed by the Serpent Brotherhood that was led by Kyle MacLachlan in the first film, now headed by a mysterious figure named Dulaque, played by Matt Frewer.

While these characters’ jobs may be slightly out of line from what’s typically expected of a librarian, we say that anything to draw attention to public libraries is a good thing. While no premiere date has been set, look for the first of the series’ ten episodes to air before the end of 2014.