Made literacy appointment TV and LeVar Burton a kids' guide for a generation.
Why it matters
Episode guide
155 episodes across 21 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.
At a glance
LeVar Burton introduces books, field trips, and kid reviews that sell the joy of reading.
Network & studio
- PBS — broadcast network
Why watch now
Watch for the cultural DNA of the 1980s — and the star power that made living rooms feel like red carpets.
Cultural impact
Made literacy appointment TV and LeVar Burton a kids' guide for a generation.
Creators
Twila Liggett · Cecily Truett Lancit · Larry Lancit
Key cast
- LeVar Burton as Host
Flash facts
- PBS premiere 1983.
- LeVar Burton host.
- Theme song permanent childhood earworm.
- Multiple Daytime Emmys; literacy advocacy icon.
FAQ
What network aired Reading Rainbow?
Reading Rainbow is associated with PBS (1983–2006).
Why is Reading Rainbow in the TV Flash top 100 for the 1980s?
Made literacy appointment TV and LeVar Burton a kids' guide for a generation.
Who are the key names behind Reading Rainbow?
Creators and principals include Twila Liggett, Cecily Truett Lancit, Larry Lancit.
Official & further reading
External sites for further reading — TV Flash is not affiliated with these networks or studios.
Back to the decade
More from the 1980s — Glitz, Soaps & Nighttime Neon. All shows.
Also on the dial
Related & side shows
Downton Abbey
Edwardian upstairs/downstairs comfort epic — tea, titles, and soft class warfare.
Mr. Robot
Hacker vigilante unreality — capitalism, mental illness, and terminal windows as aesthetic.
Sesame Street
Muppets, letters, and the street that treated kids' TV like a civil-rights project.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Cardigan kindness — slow TV that treated children's feelings as sacred.
Firing Line
Buckley's polysyllabic sparring — long-form political talk as blood sport and ballet.
Upstairs, Downstairs
Edwardian townhouse split by class — servants and masters as dual protagonists.