The Librarians

The Librarians is a new TNT action series based on the network's made-for-TV movies starring Noah Wyle. It's a cross between Syfy's recently concluded Warehouse 13 and TNT's own Leverage, in which a group of unlikely heroes—all with hearts of gold—face off against history's biggest magical threats and legends. The Librarians is the type of show that sees the heroes teaming up with the likes of Santa Claus (played by Bruce Campbell—recently off a seven-season stint on USA's Burn Notice). There's a lot of basic cable crammed into The Librarians, so it should be no surprise that, while it's great fun, the early episodes are fairly shallow and formulaic. It's great to see John Larroquette return to the small screen after his fascinating story arc on Almost Human was cut short when Fox canceled the sci-fi series after one season. Likewise, Christian Kane is a delight, as always, in his return to the role of butt-kicking smart-ass that he's owned since his days in the Buffyverse. Low production values and predictable plots are excusable if the show builds a strong ensemble, but it'll take more than solid character actors to keep The Librarians from ending up collecting dust on a shelf.