Season 2 of The Librarians: The Next Chapter has been everything TNT fans could hope for. It’s bigger, more boisterous and a whole lot of fun. But how did the creative team pull that off while staying true to what viewers love about the Librarians franchise?

Showrunner and co-creator Dean Devlin joined TVBrittanyF.com to talk about successfully launching a new Librarians series and expanding its mythology in the second season. What have been some of the creative highlights of Season 2? He also spoke about the joy of welcoming back original cast members Lindy Booth and Christian Kane in “And the Toy Phone.”

Brittany Frederick: What does it mean to simply have a Next Chapter Season 2 and know that viewers have embraced this new iteration of The Librarians?

Dean Devlin: It’s always terrifying when you start a new show, especially if you have connections to an old show…Is it going to be accepted? Are the characters going to be liked? Are [fans] going to like the new version?

The response we got in Season 1 was phenomenal. And then the fact that we opened Season 2 30% higher than Season 1, it was just like, wow. The love was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever had better reviews than I’ve had on the show [this year]. So it’s so much fun to get to be back in that world, but the most gratifying thing is to see that the fans who’ve been with us all the way through, that they’re digging it.

The fun part of any second season is knowing what works and then the ability to make it bigger. Was there anything specific you wanted to lean into, or what was your approach going into Season 2?

I think make it bigger, make it better is just always something in our room because we’re always trying to top ourselves. We’re always trying to figure out well, what did we learn last year, as far as what we can afford to do? What did we learn that that’s makeable, and where have there been improvements in digital effects, and what locations are becoming available to us? Then that feeds us on what stories we can make and what we could do. But our appetite to constantly top ourselves never goes away. Of course, the realities of budget usually temper that. [Laughs.] But we always try to do the most we can with the money we’ve been given.

The biggest addition in The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2 is the casting of Dominic Monaghan as Merlin. How did that come about?

We were having a conversation with TNT, and they were saying, what can we do to help this year? And I was like well, if we have just a tiny bit more money for the guest stars, we could bring in some really cool guest stars. They said, who are you thinking of for a reoccurring villain? And we thought we’d really love to do something with Merlin.

We went down a list of people, and I mentioned Dominic, and they were like oh my God, we’re going to be doing all this promotion of Lord of the Rings. That could be a perfect tie-in… We reached out. He said he’d love to meet, and he came to my office, and we had a lovely conversation. And he got sold on the idea, and he couldn’t have been greater.

I always love to tell the story that his first day of shooting as Merlin on set, the sound guy was off-set. He was mixing the sound off-set, so he couldn’t see what was happening on the set. And at the end of the take, Dominic came back to talk to me, and the guy’s eyes went wide when he saw Dominic. When Dominic left, he turned to me and goes, that man is the perfect Merlin. I said, why is that? And he goes, because his voice sounded like old man, his face looked like young boy. [Laughs.]

Is there anyone else that particularly stood out to you this season?

Josh Gates, 100 percent—because it was TNT’s idea. They thought, here’s Josh Gates. He does these shows about exploring and finding artifacts. It would be great cross promotion. What do you guys think of putting him on the show? And we were like, oh my God, it’s such a great idea. His fans would probably like our show.

But as we were working on it, we realized well, wait a minute—can the guy act? We had no idea if he could act, and we had written a part that’s not that easy to play. It had very specific comedy beats, and we were kind of panicking.

His first day of shooting, he had to do a two-page monologue, and so he shows up on set, and he nailed it in the first take. All of us fell out of our chairs, going holy crap! The guy’s an actor! [Laughs.] He was a great surprise because we had no idea how talented he was. We knew he was a great personality, but we had no idea that he actually had real acting chops, real comedy chops, and that was just a delight.

Christian Kane returns as Jacob Stone this season, having recurred in the first season. How important has it been to have Christian there creatively to sort of bridge between the two shows?

He was in the pilot [in] Season 1, and it was really great for the actors because a lot of them were intimidated. There had been this other show, and Noah Wyle had been on it, and Rebecca Romijn, and what shoes are they stepping into? By having Christian there, it was kind of a passing of the baton, and he was really able to talk to them about what it’s like doing this show, and the tone of the show, and how to walk through the magic door,

It was so sweet to watch, and he was so generous as far as wanting to mentor the actors into the world of The Librarians, and they were all eager to hear and eager to learn.

Viewers just saw Lindy Booth make her return as Cassandra Cillian for the first time. What was it like to add her into The Next Chapter and expand the connection between the two shows?

One of the things that I really wanted our fans to know is that this is not a replacement show. This is not a reboot. This is just another story going on while the other story is continuing somewhere else in unseen episodes of television. And this episode [“And the Toy Phone”], it becomes very hard to distinguish whether it’s the new show where they’re guest starring, or if it’s the old show with one of the stars from the new show guest starring. It really kind of has this great overlap, and it suggests that these stories have continued, and I think that’s the great fun of it

And then just how fast Lindy and Christian fell right back into the characters—there was no rust to knock off. You would have thought that we’d been shooting the old show. It was just great to see them paired back together again, and their rhythms and their comedy, like an old married couple.

What does that do for you creatively, to be able to mix actors from the previous show so seamlessly with the current ensemble? Because that’s a fun and special opportunity.

It was fabulous, and then also agai,n just for them to get to know each other and to be on set together. It’s kind of like, if you’re a parent that ended up with a second family. [Laughs.] Having your first family meet the second family and them all liking each other, it’s pretty great.

Speaking of family, The Librarians: The Next Chapter star Jessica Green has now done two Electric Entertainment shows, and of course you have a long-running collaboration with Christian Kane, What does it mean to you to have these ongoing relationships with actors, where you can work with them over more than one project?

I grew up as an actor in New York, and the whole idea of repertory theater was foundational. So to me, this idea of nurturing talent and then growing with that talent and working with them again on different projects—that just seems organic. I’ve always tried to do that in my movies, and on these TV shows, it’s been a gift because you end up with such a shortcut. You don’t have to reestablish trust.

When I work with Christian Kane, I work with him so much now [that] I’ll say “Cut,” and before I can even give the note, Christian will go, “I know.” He knows exactly what I’m going to say to him. That just happens over years of doing things together.

As we near the end of The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season 2, is there anything you want to say to the fans, or viewers who might become fans?

I just want people to know that we’re back home. We’re back where we started on TNT. They couldn’t be more supportive of the show. They’ve helped us make a fantastic show that I could not be more proud of. But I’m always surprised how many people don’t even know that we’re on. I think we’re the best kept secret on TNT.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter airs Sundays and Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on TNT. Photo Credit: Courtesy of TNT.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.