Look up there! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no…it’s a butterfly in the sky?
That’s right: Reading Rainbow is back. The beloved kid lit program, which ran in its original, LeVar Burton-hosted incarnation from 1983 to 2006, is getting a new host who fits the current era of children’s media. Mychal Threets, a librarian with a positive attitude and a strong social media following, will lead the rebooted Reading Rainbow to Sony Pictures Television‘s year-old Kidzuko channel.
If you watched Reading Rainbow growing up, then you’ll have a good idea of what to expect from the YouTube-set reboot. (And if you didn’t watch Reading Rainbow growing up, I’m sorry.) Threets will lead young viewers through popular children’s books while getting some help from special guests along the way. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Adam Devine, Gabrielle Union, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen are some of the Hollywood notables who will help kids discover the joy of reading.
“I was raised on Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton is my hero,” Threets said. “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.”
After breaking out online thanks to his infectious, upbeat personality, Threets quit his job to become a resident librarian for PBS. His effort to revive one of the public broadcaster’s most famous properties will not come on the linear PBS channel, but on a Sony-owned channel that is hungry for high-quality kids’ fare. Rights holders of classic children’s TV shows are always hunting for new ways to extend their winning IP (see also: Sesame Workshop’s deal with YouTube), so the Reading Rainbow distribution agreement looks like a win-win.
A few episodes from the LeVar-hosted version of Reading Rainbow have already arrived on Kidzuko. If you’d prefer, you can also catch the show across Reading Rainbow‘s official social channels. Check back on those hubs to catch the Threets-led edition of the show once its official release date arrives.
As you probably know, "microdrama" is the current format du jour for everyone hoping to…
Welcome to our rundown of the most-watched branded YouTube videos of the week. We're publishing…
Here's a partnership I didn't have on my bingo card: Critical Role and hololive are teaming up. VTubers…
Division I schools use new stadiums, locker room renovations, and booster perks to attract blue-chip…
November 7 will be an historic night for Drew Desbordes. That's when Desbordes, whose 13.6 million Instagram…
Major social platforms just love their chatbots--because those chatbots mean users are now responsible for…