PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE, the winner of 22 Emmy Awards, returns to TV, joining the Adult Swim lineup beginning Monday, July 10. The acclaimed series, which has been largely absent from the airwaves for nearly 15 years, stars Paul Reubens as his alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, and features a rich cast of characters who drop by the place where anything can happen.
Adult Swim will air the series Monday-Thursday at 11:00 pm (ET, PT), airing all 45 original half-hour episodes of the series and the rarely-seen PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. Many of the episodes have not been seen on TV since the original Saturday-morning run.
In the series, Pee-wee, dressed in his too-small grey suit and red bowtie, welcomes a cavalcade of characters to his playhouse, including the King of Cartoons, Cowboy Curtis, Miss Yvonne, Pteri the Pterodactyl, Randy (the resident trouble-starter), Captain Carl, Jambi the genie, nosey neighbor Mrs. Rene, and Reba the mail lady. Other inhabitants of PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE include Pee-wees talking chair, Chairry, Globey the Globe, Magic Screen, Conky the Robot, hipster-beatniks Chickie Baby, Cool Cat and Dirty Dog, Cowntess the cow and the family of miniature dinosaurs that live in a mouse hole inside a wall. Each episode blends live-action, puppets and all different types of animation including vintage cartoons, stop-motion Penny segments and Spanish superhero El Hombre.
PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE originally aired Saturday mornings on CBS, beginning on Sept. 13, 1986. The cast includes Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, S. Epatha Merkerson and Natasha Lyonne. In 2004, TV GUIDE named the show one of the top-10 cult classics of all time. A hugely successful 2004 DVD release brought all 45 original Saturday morning episodes, including eight lost episodes, plus the classic PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, to new generations of fans. Gary Panter, famed painter, punk rock illustrator and comicbook artist won three Emmys for his work as the shows production designer. Musicians who scored episodes of PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE include Mark Mothersbaugh, Dweezil Zappa, George Clinton, Stanley Clark and Danny Elfman.
Id say this was a dream come true, said Reubens, but I never dared to dream The Playhouse would join Adult Swims amazing lineup of cool shows! Well, maybe I did dream of it a couple of times. OK, its a dream come true!
Were all huge fans of PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE and were really happy that it will be a part of Adult Swim, said Mike Lazzo, Cartoon Network svp of programming and production, responsible for Adult Swim.
Reubens created the Pee-wee Herman character in 1978 while a member of the famed L.A.-based improv group The Groundlings. It rapidly grew into a cultural phenomenon. In 1981, he sold out five consecutive months of performances of THE PEE-WE HERMAN SHOW at the Roxy Theatre in L.A. HBO taped the show for its ON LOCATION series and Pee-wee was introduced to a national audience. His sold-out 22-city national tour in 1984 included Carnegie Hall. The 1985 movie PEE-WEES BIG ADVENTURE, co-written by Reubens and directed by Tim Burton, was a commercial and critical success, which led to the series PEE-WEES PLAYHOUSE and the 1988 movie BIG TOP PEE-WEE.
Adult Swim (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System Inc.s network offering original and acquired animated comedy and action series for young adults. Airing overnights six days a week for a total of 45 hours weekly, Adult Swim shares channel space with Cartoon Network, home to the best in original, classic and acquired programming for children and families, and is seen in 89 million U.S. homes.
Turner Broadcasting System Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
