From Crisis to a Calling: Mychal Threets Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles and Hosting 'Reading Rainbow' Reboot

Mychal Threets has become a familiar face to millions of social media users who follow his joyful celebrations of reading and libraries. But behind the infectious enthusiasm that made him a viral sensation, the librarian-turned-PBS host was fighting a private battle that nearly ended his life.

In an extensive interview with BET, Threets shared the deeply personal story of his mental health crisis, his decision to leave his supervising librarian position at Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, California, and his journey to hosting the highly anticipated Reading Rainbow reboot.

By early 2024, Threets had amassed more than 1.5 million followers across his social media platforms. His videos celebrating "library joy" and connecting with children had earned him national recognition, including being named one of ten recipients of a prestigious award from the American Library Association.

But the cheerful persona viewers saw online masked a growing crisis. "It was just such a stressful job," Threets told BET. "And then there were also things in my personal life with family getting sick; just struggling with, for the first time, not liking working at the library. I remember there was a day when I actually said, 'I don't like this job. I don't like doing this'".

The situation became dire in December 2023. "When I started actively having to tell myself, 'Stay one more day.' I was getting very close to taking my own life. Towards the end of that month, closer towards Christmas, and I was like, I can't do this anymore," he revealed to BET.

The weight of his responsibilities was compounded by disturbing threats. Threets received death threats serious enough that his staff worried about him leaving the library alone after shifts.

On February 23, 2024, Threets announced his resignation across all his social media platforms, with his last day set for March 1. "I am leaving to prioritize my mental health," he stated in the announcement. "To work with my mental health check-in team, but I'm hoping to make you so very proud. I'm hoping to fight for literacy".

Threets' mental health struggles didn't begin with his library career. In his resignation video, he disclosed that he suffers from anxiety, PTSD, depression, panic disorder, and nightmare disorder.

These challenges trace back to his childhood. "I suffered from anxiety and depression and panic attacks and nightmare disorder before I knew what all those things were as a kid," Threets told BET.

Growing up homeschooled from kindergarten through junior year, Threets found refuge in books. "I was a self-described library kid who found refuge among the shelves of 'Beverly Cleary,' 'Junie B. Jones,' and 'Harriet the Spy,'" he explained. "And with library books is where I made my first friends".

The library became more than just a place for books—it was a sanctuary. "We were homeschooled from the age of kindergarten through junior year. We were always at the library—we were at all the programs, all the reading challenges. We were that homeschool family at the table, just having a ball, reading books," Threets shared with BET.

These early experiences shaped not only his love of reading but also the empathy and openness that would later define his public persona and advocacy work.

Leaving his position—where he had risen from a library aide to supervising librarian over 11 years—proved to be a turning point. Threets joined PBS as a resident librarian and was soon offered what he describes as "the opportunity of a lifetime": hosting the Reading Rainbow reboot.

The iconic children's series, originally hosted by LeVar Burton from 1983 to 2006, has been reimagined for a new generation. The show, which originally garnered more than 250 awards including 26 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, was watched by approximately 10 million students at its peak.

The new digital series launched on October 4, 2025, on ReadingRainbow.org and the KidZuko YouTube channel, with a four-episode short-form run premiering weekly on Saturdays through October 25, with each episode available at 7 a.m..

For Threets, following in Burton's footsteps is both an honor and a homecoming. "I've received messages saying, 'Oh, you've got big shoes to fill!'" Threets told BET. "I don't feel that way. I'm a 'Reading Rainbow' kid. I'm a kid who loved the show. LeVar Burton is an icon. He's a legend of literacy. I'm not trying to be him. I'm trying to make him proud".

Burton himself has spoken powerfully about the significance of literacy advocacy. "As a Black man who comes from people for whom it would have been illegal to have the facility of literacy, to have grown up and become a symbol of literacy, an acknowledged advocate for literacy, especially childhood literacy in this country, that's no small thing in my view," Burton previously told PEOPLE.

Despite his new role as host, Threets emphasizes that he remains, at heart, a librarian. His passion for libraries as essential community spaces hasn't diminished despite the trauma of his previous position.

In a 2023 interview with KQED, Threets explained the purpose behind his viral videos: "My overall message with these videos is just to remind people of one, that the library exists. But more importantly, just remind people that they do belong".

"Libraries are a third space," Threets told BET in the recent interview. "You can sit in the chair from open to close. You don't even have to show me that to be here. Libraries are so important just because there's something for everybody".

This philosophy extends to mental health. In an interview with The New York Times, Threets spoke about libraries as safe spaces for vulnerability: "I'm always talking about how you can bring your anxiety, you can bring your depression into the library. You don't have to leave it outside of the building".

Even as Threets stepped away from his position to focus on his mental health, he remained committed to fighting for libraries nationwide. At the time of his resignation, he pledged to use his platform to support libraries facing funding cuts and closures.

"Worldwide, nationwide, going before Congress, letting them know how much libraries need funding, deserve funding," Threets said in his resignation announcement. "Funding libraries is funding the community, funding our togetherness, our unity, making us better people".

The Reading Rainbow reboot arrives at a particularly significant moment, following substantial federal funding cuts to public broadcasting, marking what some see as a bright spot for public media after being targeted by conservative critics for several months.

Throughout his interview with BET, Threets emphasized the importance of perseverance and seeking help during dark times. His message to those struggling echoes the internal dialogue that kept him alive during his darkest days.

"I just always encourage people to stay one more day, to take it 24 hours at a time. There's a person who loves them, who's proud of their existence—it's me. I'm so happy that they're here," Threets told BET.

The first episode of the reimagined Reading Rainbow series dropped on October 4, 2025, to much fanfare, introducing a new generation to the joy of reading while carrying forward the legacy of literacy advocacy that Burton established decades ago.

For Threets, the journey from crisis to this new chapter represents more than just a career change. It's a testament to the power of prioritizing mental health, seeking support, and finding purpose even in—or perhaps especially because of—pain.

"I'm hoping to make you so very proud," Threets said in his resignation video, addressing his followers and the broader library community. With the launch of Reading Rainbow and his continued advocacy for literacy and libraries, he appears to be doing exactly that.