The thing I’ve been waiting years to happen is finally occurring: a TV show set in a library! The new show Shelved is set in a fictional Canadian public library, and sounds like it will bring some adventures in libraryland to us all.
From the creator’s website:
“Libraries are amazing places—Noble institutions boasting thousands of years of history. They provide services that are unique and incredibly unheralded. They’ve raised the bar so high that it’s impossible for the people that work there to reach it anymore. No matter what they do, we want more. Do you realize that anyone can walk into one of those buildings and read a whole book? Or watch a movie? Or use the Internet? Or build a resume? Or learn an instrument? And all for free. Free! How are librarians not showered with praise and treasures? We just take it all for granted. It’s crazy!
Shelved is a single-camera comedy set in a small downtown branch of the public library. The series follows the employees and patrons as they go about their lives in this unassuming and extraordinary place. Libraries are community centres with unlimited obstacles and endless characters. Ours, in particular, is one of the lesser-funded branches: A forgotten place for forgotten people.”
More information about the show:
“CTV, along with independent production company Counterfeit Pictures, announced Wednesday afternoon the cast of the new original comedy series Shelved. Created by Anthony Q. Farrell (The Office), Shelved will consist of eight half-hour episodes and be led by Lyndie Greenwood (The Expanse), Chris Sandiford (What We Do in the Shadows), Dakota Ray Hebert (Run Woman Run), and Paul Braunstein (Baroness Von Sketch). Production on the series is currently underway in Toronto with Taylor Love (Most Dangerous Game), Varun Saranga (Wynonna Earp), and Robin Duke (Schitt’s Creek) rounding out the ensemble cast.
Executive produced by Farrell, Shelved is a single-camera workplace comedy centered around the lives of the employees and patrons at the Jameson Public Library in Parkdale as they go about their lives in this unassuming yet extraordinary place. Greenwood stars in Shelved as Wendy, Head of the Jameson Branch. Wendy is an energetic dreamer who always sees the best in people and cares passionately about her library and the community of Parkdale. The staff at Jameson Public Library also includes the fastidious and judgmental Howard (Sandiford), who begrudgingly joins the team after getting transferred from the prestigious Midtown branch; social rights activist Jaq (Hebert), who is obsessed with dystopian Young Adult novels and calling out micro-aggressions; and Assistant Branch Head, Bryce (Braunstein), a conservative devoted to conspiracy theories and following the letter of library law.”
Hopefully, this will be a fun depiction of libraries – and will be enjoyable for all of us!