‘Reading Rainbow’ host Mychal Threets shares mental health update: ‘I am running out of time’

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Months after viral librarian and “Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets revealed he sought mental health treatment through a five-day psychiatric hold, he published another update. On Sunday, Threets said he believes he is “running out of time.”

“People keep on saying, ‘Mychal, I’m glad to see you’re doing well. I’m glad to see you’re OK,’” he began the video. “But I’m not doing well. I’m not OK, but I believe that’s OK because I’m trying my best. My brain is very loud. My feelings are very big.”

“I believe I am running out of time,” he continued. “I don’t know how much time I have left, but I’m going to keep on trying to find joy each and every day. No matter what happens, I believe joy is out there for me. Joy is there for you. I am going to pursue joy relentlessly with all the time I have left.”

Beloved PBS series ‘Reading Rainbow’ is being revived with new host Mychal the Librarian (a.k.a. Mychal Threets), new friends and a new home on YouTube.

The Bay Area librarian-turned-social media star stirred concern online this summer after a series of posts in which he discussed his declining mental health. He also shared that he had been diagnosed with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder and is “very likely” bipolar. Threets detailed sleepwalking episodes he found terrifying, panic attacks he thought were heart attacks and intrusive thoughts tied to his depression and anxiety.

“I don’t know what tomorrow has in store. I haven’t met tomorrow yet, but I have hope,” he continued in Sunday’s update. “I want to see you at the library, at the bookstore, in the world where we all belong. I want to stay. I am trying to stay. I am asking for help. I am asking for joy. I am seizing hope. I am on a journey to OK, to keep on to tomorrow, each and every day. I am trying to stay … Thank you for trying. Thank you for staying.”

Threets often thanks his fans for “staying” on social platforms including Threads, Instagram and TikTok, and comments on the “human world” being a mess.

“Proud of you for literally surviving the day,” he wrote in a September post.

While the literacy advocate has been increasingly candid about his mental health battles through his social media accounts and in interviews, it has not been a regular topic on “Reading Rainbow.”

Mychal Threets, the cheery host of ‘Reading Rainbow,’ told fans on social media, ‘Today I am safe, I’m believing that is enough,’ after he checked into a hospital for his mental health.

The beloved PBS children’s education program, which was hosted by LeVar Burton from 1983 to 2006, was revived last year as a digital/streaming show with Threets stepping in as host. Threets’ rise to fame began with pandemic-era posts on social media. By 2023, he was the internet’s favorite librarian and garnered more than 1 million followers. PBS named him as resident librarian in 2024, and in 2025, he became the new face of “Reading Rainbow.”

In Wednesday’s episode of the series titled “Learn How to Handle Your Big Feelings!” Threets discusses healthy ways of understanding and processing complicated and overwhelming emotions.

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Emily St. Martin is an entertainment reporter on the Fast Break Desk and writes for the Books desk as well. Before joining the Los Angeles Times, she contributed to the New York Times, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, BBC, Vice and Los Angeles Magazine. She also previously worked at the Hollywood Reporter, and served as the digital features editor at Southern California News Group. In 2025, she won first place for best editorial with the L.A. Press Club.

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