At long last, the world of The Librarians continues. The sequel series The Librarians: The Next Chapter found a new home after The CW decided not to run with it, and TNT has premiered it now. The question is whether this is something to watch with the whole family.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter follows a librarian who travels from the past, landing in a present that isn’t what he would have expected. Now he’s trapped, and he needs to find a way back, but that means creating a new team of librarians. After all, his time-traveling ways have ended up releasing magic across the continent.
This is a sequel to the original series, but you don’t need to watch the original to understand what’s going on. Of course, if you did watch the original, you’ll want to see what’s to come next, and that means tuning in each Sunday when episodes air. So, can you watch it with the kids around?
The Librarians: The Next Chapter age rating: Explaining the TV-14 rating
The official age rating for the series is TV-14, which suggests that it’s okay for teens. This isn’t too surprising when you consider that it was originally made for The CW. However, with the move to TNT, there is a chance that the age rating could change as episodes go on. If that was going to happen, though, it would have had a higher age rating from the start.
Sex & nudity: There is minimal sex or nudity in the series, especially in the first episode. We don’t have much to work with just yet, and there is a chance that we’ll see more as relationships develop. The original series did include some kissing and some moments where sex was implied, so I’d expect more of that as the season continues.
Violence & gore: There are a few magical fight scenes here and there. There’s nothing that’s heavily gruesome that makes your stomach turn. It’s along the lines of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Arrowverse of series — those battles that you know should be so much worse but have to be tamed down for the slightly younger audience.
Language: This series does have some cursing, with the S-word and the B-words used every now and then. The F-bomb is not dropped at all, and “hell” and “damn” tend to be the most frequently used words, both in the original series and in this first episode.
Alcohol & drugs: This is pretty mild, as there are adults who relax with a drink now and then. However, most of the focus is on the magical issues at hand.
Overall verdict: Who is The Librarians: The Next Chapter appropriate for?
This series is one that most teens will be comfortable watching, especially if they watched the original series. It’s rated TV-14, which does hint that it’s made for teenagers, but adults are more likely to be the ones watching, pretty much like most CW shows.
It’s just worth noting that this is only an episode in. We could end up with more graphic content with the move from The CW to TNT, but I doubt that will be the case. We’d have been warned about that by now.