- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
It’s official: TNT is bringing The Librarian back.
Two months after the cable network first eyed a revival of the property as a series, TNT has ordered 10 episodes of scripted drama The Librarians and tapped Rebecca Romijn to star, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Librarian creator Dean Devlin (and his Electric Entertainment) will return to executive produce alongside John Rogers and Marc Roskin, the latter of whom served as a co-EP on all three films. Noah Wyle, who starred in the TNT movie trilogy, will reprise his role as Flynn Carsen as well as executive produce the new series. The role is in addition to his starring gig on TNT’s alien drama Falling Skies.
PHOTOS: 17 TV Shows Brought Back From the Dead
The new series, which will bow in late 2014, will center on four people from around the world who are enlisted to assist Flynn as “Librarians”: members of an ancient organization hidden beneath the Metropolitan Public Library who are dedicated to protecting an unknowing world from the secret, magical reality and protecting the artifacts housed in the library.
Romijn will star as Eve Baird, a highly skilled counterterrorism agent who is responsible for protecting the group and keeping them all alive. John Larroquette (Night Court) will oversee the new team of Librarians as the cantankerous Jenkins, an expert in ancient lore who has been working out of the Library’s branch office for longer than anyone knows.
Christian Kane (Leverage, Angel) will play Jake Stone, an Oklahoma oil worker with an IQ of 190 and an encyclopedic knowledge of art history. Lindy Booth (Dawn of the Dead) is set as Cassandra, a quirky woman with the special gift of auditory and sensory hallucinations linked to memory retrieval, known as synesthesia. John Kim (Neighbors, The Pacific) will portray Ezekiel Jones, a master of new technologies and aficionado of classic crimes who enjoys playing the role of international man of mystery.
Emmy-winner Bob Newhart and Jane Curtin will reprise their roles from the trilogy for the series. Falling Skies‘ Matt Frewer also will recur as Dulaque, a mysterious immortal who oversees an ancient cult known as Serpent Brotherhood.
PHOTOS: Broadcast TV’s Returning Shows 2014-15
“The Librarian movies have been a huge success for TNT, and we jumped at the opportunity to build a series around the incredible world Dean Devlin and his creative partners created,” said Michael Wright, president and head of programming at TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies. “We’re especially excited to have such an extraordinary cast behind The Librarians, and we’re grateful to have them on board as part of TNT’s continued expansion into the action-adventure genre.”
The Librarian franchise started in 2004 with The Librarian: The Quest for the Spear, which ranked as basic cable’s No. 1 movie of the year. The second part, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines, bowed in 2006 and was cable’s No. 1 original movie sequel of all time, scoring in the top five movies of the year. The third part, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice, collected more than 5.7 million total viewers in 2008.
The Librarians also keeps the Turner-owned cable network in business with Devlin and Romijn. Devlin created and served as showrunner on drama Leverage, which ran for five seasons on TNT. The series was canceled in December 2012. For her part, Romijn starred in TNT’s drama King & Maxwell, which was canceled in September after one season.
The Librarians joins a TNT drama slate that includes Wyle’s Falling Skies, Dallas, Franklin & Bash, Perception, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes as well as upcoming entries The Last Ship, Legends and Murder in the First. On the pilot side, the cabler has Guilt By Association, Proof, Agent X and Public Morals, among others.
Devlin is repped by CAA and Stone Meyer; Wyle is with UTA, Brillstein Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman; Romijn is with UTA, 3 Arts and Edelstein Laird.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day