The Librarians (2014 TV series)

The Librarians
Official logo of the television series
Genre	Adventure Fantasy
Based on	The Librarian by David Titcher
Developed by	John Rogers
Starring	Rebecca Romijn Christian Kane Lindy Booth John Kim John Larroquette
Composer(s)	Joseph LoDuca
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Dean Devlin Mark Roskin Noah Wyle John Rogers
Producer(s)	Paul F. Bernard Geoffrey Thorne
Location(s)	Portland, Oregon
Cinematography	David Connell
Editor(s)	Sonny Baskin Jeremy Bertstein Kate Rorick
Running time	42-58 minutes[1]
Production company(s)	Kung Fu Monkey Productions Electric Entertainment
Release
Original network	TNT
Original release	December 7, 2014 (2014-12-07) – present
Chronology
Related shows	The Librarian

The Librarians is an American fantasy-adventure television series developed by John Rogers that is broadcast on TNT, and premiered on December 7, 2014. It is a direct spin-off of The Librarian film series, sharing continuity with the films. On February 12, 2015, TNT renewed the series for a 10 episode second season.^[2] The second season of The Librarians began on November 1, 2015 on TNT.^[3] On December 15, 2015, TNT renewed the series for a 10-episode third season.^[4]

Plot

The series follows four people, Eve Baird (Rebecca Romijn), who is chosen by the Library to be the new Guardian, as well as Ezekiel, Cassandra and Jacob, who were asked to apply to the Library to become The Librarian, but for some reason didn't show up to the "auditions". So the Librarian position went in favor of Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle). While Flynn is searching for the Library (which is lost in time and space during the pilot), the four become a new team of Librarians in order to solve impossible mysteries, recover powerful artifacts, and fight against supernatural threats, especially the forces of the Serpent Brotherhood, led by the mysterious immortal Dulaque (Matt Frewer).^[5]

The second season offered up a pair of new villains, both from fiction: Prospero (Richard Cox), from Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Moriarty (David S. Lee), Sherlock Holmes' chief nemesis. The former is positioned as the greater evil, attempting to use magic to destroy the world in order to remake it more to his liking. Moriarty is more of a gray villain--generally aligned with Prospero but willing to side with the Librarians when it suits his own interests.

The third season introduces a new villain, Apep, the Egyptian God of Chaos. After being defeated by the first Librarian, Judson and his Guardian, Charlene, he is mysteriously resurrected while possessing numerous people he embarks on his mission to release Pure Evil into the world. While trying to stop Apep, the Librarians' actions are being closely investigated by General Cynthia Rockwell (Vanessa Williams) from a new secret government agency, called D.O.S.A. (Department of Statistical Anomalies).

Cast

Main

• Rebecca Romijn as Colonel Eve Baird, a former NATO agent whom the Library chose as Flynn's "Guardian", tasked with protecting and training the new Librarians.
• Christian Kane as Jacob Stone, an Oklahoma laborer and genius with an IQ of 190 and an extensive knowledge of art history and architecture. He has hidden his gift from his family. While he still does not trust Cassandra after her betrayal in the premiere, he has shown he is willing to work with her because of her contributions to the Library.
• Lindy Booth as Cassandra Cillian, a mathematician who has auditory and sensory hallucinations linked to memory retrieval. She has a brain tumor, diagnosed in childhood, which causes pain if she thinks hard enough, causing her hallucinations. Because of the extreme pain, Stone has taught her to connect to a peaceful memory during her thoughts to get past her pains.
• John Kim as Ezekiel Jones, a thief, "master of technologies", and fan of classic crimes who enjoys playing the role of international man of mystery. He is an expert thief, having hacked the London Police's security network, NSA, and numerous other law enforcement agencies. He prefers to rely on his luck and wit, not showing much concern for others until he gets to a point of realizing something important about the current case.
• John Larroquette as Jenkins (Galeas/Galahad), the quartet's reluctant, sometimes cantankerous caretaker; he has worked at The Library's branch office "for longer than anyone knows" and has extensive knowledge of ancient lore. He is also seen to have some deeply rooted connection to Dulaque, revealed in "And the Apple of Discord". It is later explained that they are both immortal because of Dulaque's casting a spell 1,000 years earlier. He was known during King Arthur's reign as Sir Galahad, as revealed in "And the Loom of Fate". He also has known Morgan le Fay (Alicia Witt) for centuries and is her archenemy.

Recurring

• Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen, the Librarian, who unites a new team with Eve in charge.
• Matt Frewer as Dulaque, the mysterious immortal leader of the Serpent Brotherhood, who has past dealings with Jenkins. He was known during King Arthur's reign as Sir Lancelot du Lac as revealed in "And The Loom of Fate". His younger version in that episode was portrayed by Jerry O'Connell. (first season)
• Lesley-Ann Brandt as Lamia, Dulaque's second-in-command in the Serpent Brotherhood. (first season)
• Jane Curtin as Charlene, a doleful library employee who interviewed Flynn for the job of 'The Librarian'. In the third season, it is revealed that she was the first Guardian.
• Bob Newhart as Judson, the first Librarian who now acts as a mentor to those who take up the mantle. (first season)
• Richard Cox as Prospero, Shakespeare's character come to life who sees his chance at taking back power now that magic is back in the world. (second season) In episode 10 of season 2 ("The Librarians and the Final Curtain"), it is revealed that Prospero is not the fictional character but the real Shakespeare himself.
• David S. Lee as Professor Moriarty, a Fictional brought to life by Prospero to aid him in his quest. (second season)
• Beth Riesgraf as a Lady of the Lake, an enigmatic figure that acts as the spokesperson for a intellectual collective that truly comprehend the scientific constructs behind magic. (second season)

Production

A scene for The Librarians being filmed at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

TNT ordered a ten-episode weekly series version of The Librarians, following the original cast that includes Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, and Jane Curtin, as well as five new characters who work for The Library. The series films in Portland, Oregon. Some scenes were filmed at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.^[7] A teaser trailer aired right after the Falling Skies season finale.

Broadcast

The series premiered in over 100 countries on Universal Channel within 24 hours of its premiere in the United States.^[8] In Canada, the series premiered December 7, 2014 on Space.^[9] In the United Kingdom, the series was originally set to premiere on Universal Channel, however, it was announced it would instead air on Syfy, premiering December 8, 2014.^[10] In Australia, the series premiered on Universal Channel on December 9, 2014,^[11] and returned for season 2 on November 5, 2015.^[12] The series premiered in New Zealand on The Zone on February 17, 2015.^[13] In Norway, the series premiered on Fox on February 18, 2015^[14] and returned for season 2 on January 6, 2016.^[15]

Syndication

The first two episodes also appeared as a feature film on December 12, 2014 on The CW.^[16]

Critical reception

The Librarians scored 63 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 11 "generally favorable" reviews.^[17] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70 percent critics rating with an average rating of 6.7 out of 10 based on 14 reviews. The website consensus reads: "It's familiar stuff, but The Librarians offers family-friendly fun with a mixture of silliness and adventure".^[18]

References

External links

• The Librarians at the Internet Movie Database
• The Librarians on Tumblr