‘Reading Rainbow’ Is Back After 19 Years With New Host & New Home
The iconic PBS Reading Rainbow is making a return after 19 years with brand new episodes, a new host, and a new home.
The official Reading Rainbow Instagram page revealed the news on Monday alongside a video previewing what’s to come in the new series. “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!” the caption read.
Mychal Threets, also known as Mychal the Librarian, will host the show, which LeVar Burton previously hosted. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show is set to debut on Saturday (October 4) and will air digitally on KidZuko, the kids-focused YouTube channel run by Sony Pictures Television.
The teaser video for the new edition features several celebrity guests, including Dancing With the Stars‘ Rylee Arnold and Ezra Sosa, The Bear actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jamie Chung, Gabrielle Union, Adam DeVine, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, and more.
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Reading Rainbow originally debuted in 1983 and aired on PBS until 2006. The purpose of the educational show was to encourage a love of books and reading among children. Roots actor Burton hosted the entire run and has frequently spoken about the show’s impact.
On his Finding Your Roots episode, Burton said hosting Reading Rainbow is what he’s most proud of in his career. “That’s the first line in my obituary, I think, ‘host and producer of Reading Rainbow,'” he said. “Having an impact on the reading habits of a couple of generations of human beings… it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration rescinded $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasters, including PBS and NPR. “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence,” Trump wrote in an executive order, per the New York Post.
PBS launched on October 5, 1970, as a free-to-air network and is best known for its educational programs, including Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Magic School Bus, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and more. The network also hosts several news programs, including Frontline, PBS NewsHour, and Firing Line.
Reading Rainbow, Premieres, Saturday, October 4, KidZuko YouTube Channel
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