Who Is Mychal Threets? Reading Rainbow Returns After 20 Years With New Host Mychal Threets

After nearly two decades, the beloved children’s television series Reading Rainbow is making a much-anticipated comeback with a new host, Mychal Threets, who replaces LeVar Burton in the revival. Announced on September 29 via the show’s official social media channels, the teaser trailer introduced Threets—also known as “Mychal the Librarian”—and offered fans a glimpse of the upcoming season.

“🎶 Take a look, it’s in a book 🎶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 show’s social media caption read.

Mychal Threets has been part of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) family for over a year, currently serving as a resident librarian for PBS Kids. He is also a Literacy Ambassador for the Children’s Literacy Initiative. Before joining PBS, Threets spent more than a decade at the Solano County Library, working his way up from a departmental aide in 2013 to supervising librarian in early 2023 before departing in March 2024.

Threets holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a Technology concentration from the University of Phoenix and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San José State University.

The Fairfield native gained significant attention and followers on TikTok and Instagram, boasting over 800,000 followers on each platform. However, with online fame came cyberbullying. Reflecting on this in a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Threets shared, “It’s been so difficult seeing and hearing about all of that on social media over the last several months. It hurts very badly to your soul to be bullied in person or on the internet.”

Although he struggled with mental health issues including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and panic attacks since childhood, Threets’ passion for libraries and literacy remained steadfast. “I was raised by my library, so I wouldn’t just make a decision to leave because of cyberbullying. I’m honored to have this platform to highlight library workers and literacy, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, but my mental health honestly just started to suffer,” he said.

Threets’ lifelong love for libraries was nurtured from a young age, having been homeschooled by his mother and spending much of his childhood at Solano County Library. He fondly recalled, “I was an unusually arrogant little library child. I was so happy to bring my cat and show her the place I loved. I was so proud.”

The original Reading Rainbow aired between 1983 and 2006, producing 155 episodes across 21 seasons, and became a staple in children’s television for promoting reading and literacy. The reboot will premiere on Saturday, October 4, on Sony-owned YouTube channel Kidzuko, marking a shift from its previous home on PBS Kids.

The upcoming season promises exciting content with celebrity guests such as Rylee Arnold, Ezra Sosa, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Chrissy Teigen, Gabrielle Union, Jamie Chung, Adam DeVine, John Legend, and Bellen Woodard. With Mychal Threets at the helm, Reading Rainbow aims to inspire a new generation of young readers.