# The Librarians (2007 TV series)

The Librarians is an Australian television comedy series which premiered on 31 October 2007 on ABC TV. In the Republic of Ireland, the show aired on RTÉ Two. The series is produced and written by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope who are also the principal cast members. Hope is also the series' director. The first series comprised six half-hour episodes. The second series with another six episodes began airing on 5 August 2009 and was filmed at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
The series centres on the trials and tribulations of Frances O'Brien, a devoutly Catholic, sexless, inept, humorless, blithely racist, self-important and insensitive Head Librarian. Her life unravels when she is forced to employ her ex-best friend, Christine Grimwood – now a petty drug dealer who needs a character reference – as the Children's Librarian. Frances must do all she can to contain her menacing past and concentrate on the biggest event of the library calendar – Book Week.
Filming on a third and final series took place in early 2010 and aired on ABC1 later that year. The theme music for The Librarians is an upbeat variation on the popular jazz tune "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie.
The Librarians was rated M in New Zealand for offensive language, sexual references and drug use.

## Episodes
### Season 1: 2007

| Episode | Title | Original airdate | Viewers | Nightly rank |
| 1 | "Should old Acquaintance be Forgot?" | 31 October 2007 | 1292000 | 5 |
| 2 | "Repeat Offender" | 7 November 2007 | 1084000 | 14 |
| 3 | "4 Kilos to Book Week" | 14 November 2007 | 1006000 | N/A |
| 4 | "Unholy Matrimony" | 21 November 2007 | 1040000 | 13 |
| 5 | "Amnesty" | 28 November 2007 | 988000 | 12 |
| 6 | "And Nothing but the Truth" | 5 December 2007 | 1001000 | 10 |

### Season 2: 2009

| Episode | Title | Original airdate | Viewers | Nightly rank |
| 1 | "Just Returned" | 5 August 2009 | 1053000 | 11 |
| 2 | "This Little Piggy" | 12 August 2009 | 1028000 | 13 |
| 3 | "Cut to the Quick" | 19 August 2009 | 843000 | 19 |
| 4 | "Romeos And Juliets" | 26 August 2009 | 877000 | 17 |
| 5 | "Deliverance" | 2 September 2009 | 827000 | 16 |
| 6 | "My Rock" | 9 September 2009 | 936000 | 15 |

### Season 3: 2010

| Episode | Title | Original airdate | Viewers | Consolidated Viewers | Nightly rank |
| 1 | "Mother Pearl" | 13 October 2010 | 726000 | 788215 | 15 |
| 2 | "Quid Pro Quo" | 20 October 2010 | 541000 | 596098 | 26 |
| 3 | "Tsukiji" | 27 October 2010 | 595000 | 661706 | 25 |
| 4 | "Dark Before Dawn" | 3 November 2010 | 582000 | 642233 | 20 |
| 5 | "Kerching Kerching" | 10 November 2010 | 572000 | 615530 | 24 |
| 6 | "Milk, Not Cheese, Moon" | 17 November 2010 | 534000 | 564685 | 25 |
| 7 | "Pearl of Wisdom" | 24 November 2010 | 489000 | 520072 | 25 |
| 8 | "Power and the Passion" | 1 December 2010 | 658000 | 710174 | 19 |

## Cast
### Main cast

* Robyn Butler as Frances O'Brien
* Roz Hammond as Christine Grimwood
* Heidi Arena as Dawn McConnichie, in a wheelchair, thanks to Frances' inattention
* Stephen Ballantyne as Matthew Bytnskov
* Keith Brockett as Ky Lee
* Bob Franklin as Neil Slider, attracted to Christine
* Wayne Hope as Terry O'Brien, in love with his wife, who ignores him
* Nicole Nabout as Nada al Farouk, smart Muslimm lady, target of Frances' intolerance
* Kim Gyngell as Father Harris, irritated by Frances' religiosity
* Josh Lawson as Lachie Davis (Series 1)
* Fiona Harris as Jane (Series 2 and 3)
* Victoria Eagger as Pearl O'Leary (Series 3)

### Guests

* Grant Piro as Piero (Series 1)
* Stephen Curry as Life Coach (Series 1)
* Kate Kendall as Jacinta McSweeney (Series 1)
* Greg Stone as Premier Carter (Series 1)
* Molly Daniels as Bridget / Bernadette (Series 1 and 2)
* Noni Hazelhurst as Midwife (season 2)
* Marty Sheargold as Paolo (seasons 2 and 3)
* Hamish Blake as HD News Journalist, Jake Jackson (season 2)
* Lesley Baker as Christine's Aunt (season 2, 1 episode)
* Vince Colosimo as Adrian Green, Head of the Australian Library Association (season 2)
* Tony Martin as Gene, Adrian Green's boyfriend (season 2)
* Angus Sampson as Xavier Fisher (season 3)
* Tony Moclair as Bingo (season 3)
* Justin Hamilton as Biscuit (season 3)
* Lachy Hulme as Hasan, Nada's ex-husband (season 3)
* Peta Brady as Marzena Stovic (2 episodes)
* Peter Garrett as himself (season 3)
* Hannah Gadsby as Carmel (seasons 2 and 3)
* Celia Pacquola as Indigo (season 3)
* Patrick Brammall as Stuart (season 3)
* Amanda Muggleton as Rose (season 3)
* Toby Truslove as Dave

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Series | Result | Ref |
| 2009 | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Performance in a Television Comedy | Robyn Butler | Series 2 | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Equity Awards | Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Cast | — | Won | |

## Series 1 DVD & Blu-ray release

The Librarians :
| | Set details | Special features |
| | 6 Episodes 16:9 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Yes English (2.0 Stereo) Total running time: approx. 172 minutes | Audio commentary by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope Photo board ABC promo interview Alternative ending for Episode 4 Deleted scene from Episode 6 |
| Release date |||
| Region 4 5 December 2007 |||

## Series 2 DVD & Blu-ray release

The Librarians Series 2 :
| | Set details | Special features |
| | 6 Episodes 16:9 Aspect Ratio Subtitles: Yes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Total running time: approx. 223 minutes | Audio commentary by Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, Roz Hammond and Heidi Arena The Making of The Librarians Frances' unheard library opening speech Christine's Ante Natal Classes Neil's Online Assignments Deleted scene Outtakes |
| Release date |||
| Region 4 1 October 2009 (Series 1&2 Blu-ray also released) |||