Actors Callum McGowan and Bluey Robinson were battling jetlag as they discussed their work on ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter.’
After starting out as a series of films, TNT aired four seasons of ‘The Librarians’ during 2014-2018. This time around, it’s a completely different team dealing with the magic and the chaos that ensues when Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), a Librarian from 1847, travels in time to present-day Belgrade, Serbia. When Vikram releases magic all across the continent, The Library has to go into cleanup mode, sending Guardian Charlie Cornwall (Jessica Green). In addition to Vikram and Charlie, the team–including Lysa Pascal (Olivia Morris) and Connor Green (Bluey Robinson)–has six months to clean it up.
“I think he’s a new kind of entrance in the world,”. McGowan says of Vikram, a man out of time, much like Steve Rogers/Captain America. “Because he’s a man behind time or out of time, whatever it is. But the joy of getting a script like that and I remember saying to myself, if I don’t get this job, I don’t deserve to be an actor, because I loved it so much from the minute I read it. It’s been the greatest thing I think I’ll ever do, probably.”
Much like the case with McGowan, Robinson’s mother had also been a fan of the franchise. The actor opened up on getting into the world after getting the audition and needing to send in a tape.”
“After I got the audition, I kind of knew what I was going to do for my audition tape,” Robinson said. “And then I thought, let me just actually watch some of the show and just at least some snippets. I really kind of got into the world and I was like, oh, I recognize these characters. I have seen them. I just couldn’t quite place the name of the Librarians.”
The series had initially been ordered a few years ago by the CW before switching networks to TNT. Upon going back to its rightful home, TNT subsequently ordered a second season. They are currently in production with Devlin telling Awards Focus that they are waiting on him to finish writing the finale.
TNT is launching ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter’ with a two-night premiere–new episodes are running after the NBA Playoffs coverage May 25, 2025, and after NHL Playoffs coverage on May 26–approximately 11:30 PM ET/8:30 PM PT. Following Memorial Day weekend, the 12-episode series will settle into a Monday night schedule. Check TNT listings for details or this handy guide from Lisa Brenner–episodes will air at 9 PM ET/PT on June 16 and from June 30-August 4! Times will vary while TNT is airing the NBA and NHL Playoffs.
It’s so nice to meet you.
Callum McGowan: Nice to meet you, too. Hello.
Bluey Robinson: How are you?
Hanging in there. It’s been something of a week.
McGowan: Oh, really? I’m sorry to hear that.
Well, when you’re Jewish in America this week.
Robinson: Oh, really.
McGowan: Yeah. Yeah. I saw the news. It’s horrible. It’s horrible.
How are you doing?
McGowan: I’m doing very well. We got back from New York yesterday, so my jet lag is in full swing. So apologies that I look like a wet doormat right now. That’s all I can apologize for.
I’ve watched eight of the first 12 episodes so far. I love how ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter’ still has the same magic even though it’s an entirely different cast.
McGowan: That’s so nice of you to say, because I think our anxiety—especially with the show coming out very soon—is we want to do homage to the original show and as you said, keep that magic, which was so perfectly created by Dean and the team. Yeah, yeah. I don’t think you know how much that means to us to hear that. It’s amazing. You’ve seen eight episodes so that’s great.
Robinson: I actually can’t believe you’ve seen eight. I think everybody else has seen four, maybe. Maybe they just got bored.
McGowan: It just means that Danielle is special. That’s what it means.
Well, when they sent me the screeners last week, they had eight ready to go. I’m just waiting on those final four.
Robinson: Wow, I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Really glad.
McGowan: Yeah. Yeah.
How familiar were you with ‘The Librarians’ franchise when you first heard about the new series?
McGowan: Both me and Blue’s mums are fans of the original films with Noah Wyle, but I think we can both admit the series kind of passed us by, but both our mums were very excited that we got auditions for this show. When I got the job, I went and watched all four series and it was a joy, so it made me ever more excited to be part of it.
Robinson: Yeah, I hadn’t seen the original series or the films, but my mum definitely was excited because she watched the seasons with my little sister. It was the show that my younger sister and my mum used to sit and watch ‘The Librarians’ together. It was like their little bonding time. After I got the audition, I kind of knew what I was going to do for my audition tape. And then I thought, let me just actually watch some of the show and just at least some snippets. I really kind of got into the world and I was like, oh, I recognize these characters. I have seen them. I just couldn’t quite place the name of the Librarians.
Yeah. I’d watched the series premiere of ‘The Librarians’ before I’d watched the three movies.
Robinson: Wow.
I just fell in love.
Robinson: So you went back cataloging and watched the whole. Got you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That first film was really cool actually. Did like the original.
McGowan: I think there’s something very comforting about a show like ‘The Librarians’ that you can keep returning to it at any kind of stage, at any point. It’s like being around old friends so I think it’s a very special show in that sense.
What do you typically look for in a character when you’re reading a script or offered a role?
McGowan: Anything that pays (Laughs). Kind of the truth of it really. I mean, it’s a very rare thing to get a script like this, especially for me, where this character isn’t like anything in the original ‘Librarians.’ He’s very much a kind of—I don’t know what the word would be, but he’s a moron, I guess, but he’s an amazing moron.
Robinson: He’s a bit of an anomaly in the world and the seasons.
McGowan: Yeah, I think he’s a new kind of entrance in the world. Because he’s a man behind time or out of time, whatever it is. But the joy of getting a script like that and I remember saying to myself, if I don’t get this job, I don’t deserve to be an actor, because I loved it so much from the minute I read it. It’s been the greatest thing I think I’ll ever do, probably.
Robinson: You never know what could happen.
McGowan: No, I think so.
I was just describing Vikram to Dean Devlin the other day as this man out of time, kind of like Captain America.
McGowan: Yeah. I will take that comparison to my grave. Okay, I’ll say it for you, Danielle. I am the Captain America of Dean Devlin shows.
Robinson: Right, who am I then? I’m Iron Man.
McGowan: No. Iron Man? Shut up.
What was it like playing this man out of time and how do you approach your portrayal of a character that’s missed two world wars and so much more?
McGowan: Yeah, I mean, I said this earlier, but I always imagined Vikram as the White Rabbit from ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ that he’s either kind of in front of time, behind time, but he’s always late. That kind of energy that he has is what, for me, kind of drives him.
The character that Dean kind of created was so roundly, perfectly written for me, in a sense. But no, it’s an odd question, because when I try to psychoanalyse Vikram, I always get stuck, because Vikram goes on impulse, he goes on energy, he acts before he thinks, and that’s what I kind of took from the script, and that’s what I’ve tried to do in the character.
I always quite find it hard to talk about him when someone asks me a very intelligent question, and I ramble.
Bluey, what was your approach to playing a conspiracy theorist and did you study any conspiracy theorists while prepping for the role?
Robinson: Yeah, that was fun. I like that he’s a conspiracy theorist, but he’s pretty spot on with his theories. He just has to prove it to everyone. That was fun to take on. And yeah, I mean, you’ve got all kinds of YouTube…let’s say, alternative pages where people have all these theories of the universe or history, magic and stuff like that. There’s quite a bit on YouTube and I was familiar with some of the more famous ones. I just had fun with it.
As soon as I read the first line of my character’s entrance, I was like, oh yeah, I get this. I get this guy. He’s on social media talking to his followers, trying to tell them, we’re going to prove that this magic exists. They said it doesn’t, but follow me. That was just fun to just go on that journey with him. I kind of got it immediately and then watched some of the shows to kind of refine the tone a bit.
But yeah, I love a good conspiracy. Why not? A lot of the time they come out to be true. It just takes a while.
McGowan: It’s important, I think, that Connor’s right. He’s never wrong. He’s not a wacky person.
Robinson: His conspiracies are based on a lot of research and maybe he has to take some leaps now and again, but it’s based on what he considers facts or at least enough information patterns of recognition that he can go, there’s too much evidence here for this not to be true. Does anyone else see it? That was very fun to play. I enjoyed that a lot.
At a time when a lot of series are lucky to get at least one season, how does it feel to know you have job security for at least two seasons of work?
McGowan: It’s the maddest thing. Dean—I remember I was playing a game of cricket in the park and I attempted to bowl and I pulled a neck muscle because I’m that good at sport. I got a phone call from Dean and it was with Blue, Jess and Liv on a FaceTime call. Dean told us that TNT wanted the show so much that they were going to give us a second series straight away. That feeling, if I could put that in a bottle, I would keep that forever. This idea that not only did I have job security for another year, but also I get to go back to this amazing world. It’s unheard of. That never happens. I like being part of a group that we’re first. We do these things first so that was nice.
Robinson: Yeah. I guess for me as well. After we finished the first season, it was like, oh, is there going to be another season? We’re going to have to wait a long time till we know. We found out a lot quicker than we thought we would. And then, to find it moving from CW to TNT was a whole other thing I didn’t really quite understand at the time.
But to know that I was going to get to go back here—I’m in Serbia right now, and see my friends again, see the crew again, hang out and have a silly fun every day. Even though it’s a lot of hard work and exhausting, but it’s a lot of fun. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Just to know that they really liked what we did off the bat, enough to put themselves behind it and say, let’s do season two straight away, let’s not mess around. I think we’ve upped the levels so far in season two, definitely.
I can’t wait to watch season two. Of course, I’ve got to watch those last four episodes of season one, but it was so nice getting to hang out with the two of you this morning. Thank you so much.
Robinson: Anytime.
McGowan: Thank you so much.