The Librarians is a direct spin-off of The Librarian film series, sharing continuity with the films, and was developed by John Rogers for TNT.

The series retained original film cast members Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, and Jane Curtin, while introducing five new characters who work for the Library.

The series was filmed in Portland, Oregon, with some scenes shot at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

The character Lamia, Dulaque's second-in-command in season one, has a name referencing the mythical Libyan queen of the same name.

The first two episodes were also edited together and aired as a feature film on The CW on December 12, 2014.

TNT cancelled the series in March 2018 just days after the fourth season finale aired; producer Dean Devlin attempted to shop the series to other networks but negotiations were unsuccessful by June 2018.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the show (listed under the title The Quest, 2014-2018) holds an 89% rating as of May 2025, while Metacritic gave the first season a score of 63 out of 100 based on 11 reviews.

Three tie-in novels written by Greg Cox were published based on the series: The Librarians and the Lost Lamp (2016), The Librarians and the Mother Goose Chase (2017), and The Librarians and the Pot of Gold (2019).