Who is Mychal Threets? Reading Rainbow returns with new host 20 years after final episode

Reading Rainbow is back after nearly two decades, with a new presenter, Mychal Threets, referred to as Mychal the Librarian. On Monday, September 29, the show’s social media handles posted an announcement video featuring the new host, providing a glimpse into the upcoming season. The trailer's caption read: 

“🎶 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 📚🌈✨”

Mychal Threets, who is replacing LeVar Burton as the host of Reading Rainbow, has been employed by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for over a year. According to his LinkedIn profile, Threets works for PBS Kids as a resident librarian. He has also been associated with the Children's Literacy Initiative as its Literacy Ambassador. 

Previously, Mychal Threets was an employee of the Solano County Library, where he worked from 2013 to 2024. He began as a library departmental aide and, over the years, served in various positions before becoming the supervising librarian in January 2023. Threets left the Solano County Library in March last year.

According to his LinkedIn bio, Mychal Threets is also an alumnus of the University of Phoenix and San José State University. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications with a Concentration in Technology and a Master’s in Library and Information Science. 

Mychal Threets, who became viral on social media, also faced cyberbullying 

The Fairfield native has also garnered online fame with his content on TikTok and Instagram, having 812K and 881K followers on the two platforms, respectively. According to Rolling Stone, Threets garnered virality as a librarian in 2020, but also faced social media hate. 

In a 2024 interview with the magazine, Mychal reflected upon being cyberbullied. He remarked: 

“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.” 

Mychal, who was leaving his full-time job at Solano County Library, said: 

“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.”

Mychal Threets, who mentioned having struggled with anxiety, depression, insomnia, and panic attacks since his childhood, was homeschooled by his mother, per Rolling Stone. Threets also spoke about spending time at Solano County Library as a kid, which ingrained the love for libraries in him. He recounted during the Rolling Stone interview: 

“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. I thought she was the only animal who had gotten a ribbon and then my dad picked us up and was kind enough to tell us every other kid and animal had also gotten a ribbon. So it was a very good grounding exercise from a very early age. And ever since then, I’ve loved libraries.”

Threets, a library enthusiast and literacy advocate, will now be seen hosting the revival of Reading Rainbow, a children’s TV series that originally ran between 1983 and 2006 for 155 episodes across 21 seasons. PBS’s award-winning television show was known for encouraging book reading, literature recommendations, and more. 

The reboot will broadcast weekly on Saturdays, starting from October 4, on Sony-owned YouTube channel, Kidzuko, instead of PBS Kids. Based on the first teaser, some of the celebrity guests in the forthcoming season include Rylee Arnold, Ezra Sosa, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Chrissy Teigen, Gabrielle Union, Jamie Chung, Adam DeVine, John Legend, and Bellen Woodard.