Take a look, it’s in a book: a beloved PBS show is officially back. Reading Rainbow has landed a 24-episode order.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Television and Buffalo Toronto Public Media announced the pickup on Feb. 23.
Social media’s Mychal the Librarian, Mychal Threets, will return as host. Kristen McGregor, a veteran of Sesame Street and Ms. Rachel, joins as executive producer and showrunner.
The show was revived last year with four digital episodes for the Sony-owned YouTube channel, KudZuko. This revival came 20 years after the original series, hosted by LeVar Burton, ended, and the new episodes have since garnered 4.8 million views.
KidZuko will continue to receive exclusive shortened episodes, but SPT is now shopping the full 24-episode season to TV networks and streaming services. Talks are reportedly underway.
The four-episode revival featured guest appearances from Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa (Dancing with the Stars), children’s author Bellen Woodard (“More Than Peach”), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear). Celebrities including Jamie Chung, Gabrielle Union, Adam DeVine, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen narrated books for the show. SPT says the new season will feature many more celebrities and books.
The revival is also good news for public media. After the Trump administration cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last year, the series will generate a new stream of revenue for the Buffalo, New York-based public media station once a buyer is secured.
Hosted by LeVar Burton, Reading Rainbow originally ran for 23 seasons on PBS and PBS Kids from 1983 to 2006. It returned in 2025 as a four-episode reboot with Threets as the new host.