From 1983 to 2006, Reading Rainbow helped children discover the joy of books and reading. Now, almost 20 years after the final episode of the classic PBS series, the show is returning with a new format.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new Reading Rainbow will be a digital series debuting on KidZuko, a YouTube channel by Sony Pictures Television focused on kids’ content, on Saturday. Mychal Threets, aka content creator Mychal the Librarian, will host the new show.
Buffalo Toronto Public Media, which produced the original series, confirmed the show’s return. A spokesperson for the station said new episodes will be released every week until Oct. 25, alongside companion vertical videos.
“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! Make sure to follow the rainbow,” the Reading Rainbow Instagram account captioned a post with a trailer for the new show.
The trailer shows Threets in the library and reading with children. It also teases several celebrity guests who will appear on the show, including Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa from Dancing with the Stars, Fantastic Four actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach, as well as books narrated by stars such as Gabrielle Union, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen.
The ‘Reading Rainbow’ reboot comes after the Trump administration axed federal funding for public broadcasters
The Reading Rainbow reboot marks a big win for public television after the Trump administration axed $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasters like PBS and NPR, forcing cuts at local stations.
“Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence,” President Donald Trump penned in an executive order, the New York Post reported.
In the Reading Rainbow documentary, Butterfly in the Sky, actor LeVar Burton, who hosted the original Reading Rainbow, reflected on how the show made him a better man.
“When we started Reading Rainbow, I was in my twenties. I grew up in a home without a father. My mom was a single parent. She raised three kids–I’m in the middle of two girls. So I was trying to figure out who I was as a man,” he said. “At the same time, I was trying to model what being an open-hearted man was on television. … Doing the show helped make me become a much better man.”
