Posted in: CBS, streaming, TV | Tagged: pee-wee herman, Pee-wee's Playhouse

Shout! TV Sets Pee-wee's Playhouse Marathon; Coincides with HBO Doc

Shout! TV is running a Pee-wee's Playhouse marathon on May 23rd, coinciding with the premiere of HBO's Paul Reubens doc, Pee-wee as Himself.

While HBO plans to celebrate the life of Paul Reubens in their original documentary Pee-wee as Himself, Shout! TV will run a marathon of his signature TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse on the same day, on May 23rd. The late actor, who passed in 2023, worked with director Matt Wolf (The Stroll) for the documentary, which was edited from over 40 hours of interview footage, over 1,000 hours of archival footage, and tens of thousands of never-before-seen photographs.

Shout! TV to Run All Five Seasons of 'Pee-wee's Playhouse' in Marathon

Reubens originated Pee-wee Herman, the bow-tie-wearing childlike clown figure, as a member of the famed improv group, the Groundlings. Before developing the character, he was already performing on stage and screen with his debut in The Brotherhood (1968). After a failed audition for Saturday Night Live, Reubens started to adopt the character more professionally in his roles as his proper stage name and persona. In all his Pee-wee-related roles, he always retained his mannerisms and schtick even when he was a guest on SNL.

Pee-wee's Playhouse, which ran on CBS from 1986-1990 as part of their Saturday morning block, was the TV incarnation of his stage act to which Reubens built an empire, which also includes his films like Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), and Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016). Joining Reubens on his Pee-wee journey include Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne, John Paragon, Ric Heitzman, George McGrath, Alison Mork, Wayne White, Kevin Carlson, Lynne Marie Stewart, William Marshall, and S. Epatha Merkerson. Several, including the late Stewart, will appear on the HBO documentary.

Pee-wee as Himself not only features the Reuben's life as the character, but also chronicles his acting comeback following his infamous arrest in 1991 at an adult theater, dropping his alter ego and using his own name, starting with reuniting with his Big Adventure director Tim Burton in a cameo role for his sequel Batman Returns in 1992, playing the Penguin's (Danny DeVito) father, who would abandon him as an infant. He would also take an equally memorable role as the vampire Amilyn in the 1992 cult classic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Reubens would find his way back into live-action DC in Fox's Batman prequel series Gotham, set in a different universe, again as Penguin's (Robin Lord Taylor) father, Elijah Van Dahl, a far more nuanced role across seasons two and three. Reubens would embrace Pee-wee again in the late 2000s, making media appearances again as the character before his 2016 Netflix film.

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