The CW is set to revive The Librarian franchise with the spinoff series The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
The network released an official synopsis for the series, which will be executive produced by Dean Devlin (The Librarians, Leverage and Independence Day), Rachel Olschan-Wilson and Marc Roskin. Jonathan English of Balkanic Media will also serve as a producer. "The new series centers on a 'Librarian' from the past, who time traveled to the present and now finds himself stuck here," the synopsis reads. "When he returns to his castle, which is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. He is given a new team to help him clean up the mess he made, forming a new team of Librarians."
The Librarian franchise began with the 2004 television movie The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. The film starred Noah Wyle as bookworm and career student Flynn Carsen, who is recruited by a secret organization within the Metropolitan Public Library to be the next Librarian, the collector and custodian of the world's most sacred artifacts. The film also starred Bob Newhart as Judson, Flynn's mentor and predecessor, and Jane Curtain as Charlene, the library administrator. The Indiana Jones-esque adventure spawned two sequels, 2006's The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines and 2008's The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice, and a television series called The Librarians (2014-2018) that featured a team of librarians, headlined by Rebecca Romijn's Colonel Eve Baird.
The Librarian Franchise Lives Again
It is unknown whether the new series will see the return of The Librarian's previous players. Wyle, Newhart and Curtain notably returned in recurring guest roles for The Librarians, with Wyle also serving as an executive producer, writer and director.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter is part of a new wave of content for The CW, which also includes scripted series like Sophie Turner's Joan and The Swarm. The network's new slate comes just days after it announced the cancelations of legacy series like The Winchesters. There is still no word on the network's two remaining DC shows, Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights, though rumors suggest the former will return while the latter will go the way of The Winchesters.
The CW's new content is also the result of the network's rebranding under Nexstar, which purchased a controlling interest in the network in October 2022. Following the deal, The CW famously descaled much of its DC-related content, marking the end of the Arrowverse.
The company has also been downsizing behind the scenes, expecting to lose eight major market stations across the US by Fall 2023. The stations are owned and operated by CBS, which reportedly pulled its longtime affiliation with The CW following Nexstar's takeover.
Source: The CW