COVER STORY
Season 3 of ‘The Librarians’ in full swing on TNT
Action, adventure, intrigue — these may not be the first words that come to mind when we think of librarians, but one TV show offers viewers a twist on the stereotypically mundane profession.
A group of unlikely heroes battles an ancient god to prevent pure evil from being unleashed on the world in a new episode of the third season of “The Librarians,” airing Sunday, Dec. 25, on TNT. Based on David N. Titcher’s (“Houdini and Doyle”) “The Librarian,” which was released in 2004 and spawned two sequels, the fantasy drama follows a group of Librarians dedicated to protecting the unwitting public from the hidden magical realm and its threats.
Now in season 3, the show stars Rebecca Romijn (“X-Men,” 2000), Christian Kane (“Leverage”), Lindy Booth (“The Famous Jett Jackson”) and John Harlan Kim (“The Neighbours”) as the latest team of Librarians tasked with keeping the world safe. John Larroquette (“Night Court”) portrays Jenkins, their reluctant caretaker.
The big news this season is the return of Noah Wyle, who starred as the lead Librarian, Flynn Carsen, in the original movie franchise. Wyle filmed the first movie while on a hiatus from his role as Dr. John Carter in NBC’s mega hit “ER,” and was starring in TNT’s “Falling Skies” when “The Librarians” series was conceived. In a November interview with “Entertainment Tonight,” he talked about how refreshing it has been to play Carsen again.
“I’ve always looked at Flynn and the Librarians franchise as medicinal doses every time I get a little too oversaturated doing drama,” said Wyle, adding that working on “The Librarians” was “like a summer vacation job.”
Wyle has guest starred in occasional episodes of the first two seasons, of course, but he’s even more involved in season 3 of the hit drama. He’s been an executive producer for the show since the beginning and, in March, it was announced that Wyle would appear in seven of this season’s 10 episodes. He’s also slated to direct two episodes, and even write one.
In fact, Sunday’s episode marks his writing debut. Entitled “And the Trial of the Triangle,” the episode follows the team’s efforts to unravel the mystery behind the Bermuda Triangle as they try to find the Eye of Ra and stop the spread of pure evil. The installment is particularly challenging for Wyle’s character, as Carsen must pass a series of tests that not only help him find the Eye, but also teach him a lot about himself. The actor told “ET” that the experience was “way better than [he] expected.”
Carsen’s partner is Eve Baird (Romijn), a former antiterror agent for NATO who took on the role of Guardian in the series debut, which aired in December 2014 to more than five million viewers. Baird uses her military training to protect Carsen and the other Librarians on their many harrowing adventures. However, now that she and Carsen are romantically involved, she struggles to keep her feelings for him from getting in the way of her duty to protect the others.
The other members of the team each possess unique skills that help them on their many quests. Kane is Oklahoma-born cowboy Jacob Stone, the perfect combination of brains and brawn, thanks to his knowledge of art, architecture and history.
Cassandra Cillian’s (Booth) intellectual gifts are enhanced by a condition known as synesthesia, which allows her to link her senses to her memory. As a life-threatening tumor metastasizes in her brain throughout the season, she’s overwhelmed by hallucinations, and must learn to control her gifts to help the team unravel mysteries of magic and science.
New recruit Ezekiel Jones (Kim) is an unlikely choice to save the world. He’s actually a worldclass thief, but his skills are invaluable when the Librarians need to get in or out of somewhere. While Baird recognizes that he has potential, not everyone is happy to have him on board.
For many fans and critics, the highlight of the show is Emmy winner Larroquette as Jenkins, the reclusive caretaker of the Library’s Annex in Portland, Oregon. He was none too pleased when Baird and the others set up their base of operations in his quiet sanctuary, where he likes to tinker with gadgets. At the end of the first season, it was revealed that Jenkins is actually the immortal Knight of the Round Table Galahad.
The stakes are high in season 3 as the team faces off against the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, who wields the power of pure evil. As if that wasn’t enough, the team also runs afoul of the Department of Statistical Anomalies (DOSA), which has been set up to apprehend the Librarians and take control of the magical artifacts hidden inside the Library. All the while, the Librarians discover that there are even more artifacts in the world than they expected.
Ranked the No. 2 basic cable series in its freshman year, “The Librarians” averaged more than five million viewers per episode, and clocked in as one of cable’s top 20 original dramas. Find out if season 3 lives up to the hype and join Flynn, Baird and the others on another epic adventure in a new episode of “The Librarians,” airing Sunday, Dec. 25, on TNT.