It’s time to check out “The Librarian” franchise again.
The trio of fun action-adventure films aired from 2004-08 on TNT with Noah Wyle playing the lead, Flynn Carsen, a lighter version of Indiana Jones, as he went around the world in search of magical artifacts for the mystery organization known as The Library.
This Sunday, Wyle returns to the franchise as it becomes plural — it’s “The Librarians” now — for a new television series. Wyle’s Carsen does show up, but he’s taking a backseat to Rebecca Romijn’s Eve Baird, a counterterrorism agent who protects a new crew that’s out to find powerful ancient artifacts. John Larroquette also joins the cast as Jenkins, who acts as a caretaker for Baird and her crew.
amNewYork spoke with Romijn, who also hosts the body-painting reality competition series “Skin Wars” on Game Show Network.
Were you familiar with the franchise before signing on?
No, I actually had not. I was not familiar with the franchise until I was cast. I first responded to it because of the genre. I haven’t really done action adventure. … I loved “Indiana Jones” growing up so I really responded to it at first because of that. And then when I saw the movies, and realized the comedy involved, it just got better and better and better, and I can’t believe how funny Noah Wyle is. I said to him, when I first got involved, “I love that we get to do this ‘Indiana Jones’-style show,” and he said, “If ‘Indiana Jones’ was played by Don Knotts.”
This has a great cast of classic comedic actors with Jane Curtain, John Larroquette and Bob Newhart. What’s it like on set?
It’s unbelievable. As a child of the ’80s, I grew up watching “Kate & Allie,” I’m semi-obsessed with “Night Court” and just getting to stand nose-to-nose with Dan Fielding on a day-to-day basis, it was heaven. And they’re so good and they’re so funny. They are who they are and you can recognize certain elements that you saw in “Kate & Allie,” or that you saw in the character of Dan Fielding. It’s who John Larroquette and Jane Curtain are. … And really because this is Noah’s baby, the true joy is watching Noah play Flynn Carsen. I’ve never seen somebody love a character like Noah loves Flynn Carsen. Because I’ve only seen Noah do “ER” and “Falling Skies” all these years, I didn’t know how funny he is. It’s like he has to save up all his comedy for this character.
How does Eve fall into “The Librarian” mythology?
The Librarians are the seekers of magical artifacts hidden around the world, and Eve Baird is the protector of the seekers of magical artifacts hidden around the world. She receives this magical invitation from the library, doesn’t understand what it’s about, but is very happy as an expert in counterterrorism and investigator. Very happy in her military life. Sort of regards everything from a very black-and-white military standpoint. Certainly there’s no room in her brain for something as crazy as magic and I don’t think she necessarily wants the job. She took this oath to serve and protect and then it’s explained to her that this is basically the same job. … If these artifacts fall into the wrong hands, she realizes that she is needed.
Are you like Eve? Do you have room in your brain for something as crazy as magic?
My favorite thing about playing Eve Baird is that she’s the skeptic of the group, she sort of gets to be voice of the audience and I love that. She’s sort of the straight man in the end. John Rogers, our show runner, comes from this physics background, and the way he explains magic in our episodes makes me a believer. He explains the way things work to the point where I’m like, “Magic is real, huh.” And I don’t know in our day-to-day basis how much magic is real, but I believe in physics and I believe in energy and so there were certain things that he would explain in such a way that it made me a believer.
