or


[06/05/06 - 12:00 AM]
Pee-Wee's Playhouse Makes TV Return on Adult Swim July 10

[via press release from Cartoon Network]

Pee-wee�s Playhouse Makes TV Return on Adult Swim July 10

Emmy-Winning Series Returns to Air Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET, PT) 20 Years after its Debut

Pee-wee�s Playhouse, the winner of an astounding 22 Emmy Awards and a pop culture touchstone nearly 20 years after its debut, 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, Cartoon Network�s late night sister network featuring animation and other programming aimed at adults 18-34, will air the groundbreaking series Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. (ET, PT), airing all 45 original half-hour episodes of the series and the rarely-seen Pee-wee�s Playhouse Christmas Special. Many of the episodes have not been seen on TV since the original Saturday-morning run of Pee-wee�s Playhouse.

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-wee�s Playhouse include Pee-wee�s 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 fast-paced episode blends live-action, puppets and all different types of animation including vintage cartoons, stop-motion Penny segments and Spanish superhero El Hombre. Plus there�s always a lesson or two.

Pee-wee�s 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. The series won a remarkable 22 Emmy Awards during its original run. Since then, Pee-wee�s Playhouse has attained iconic status. In 2004, TV Guide named the show one of the top-ten 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-wee�s Playhouse Christmas Special, to new generations of fans. Gary Panter, famed painter, punk rock illustrator and comic book artist won three Emmys for his work as the show�s production designer. Musicians who scored episodes of Pee-wee�s Playhouse include Mark Mothersbaugh, Dweezil Zappa, George Clinton, Stanley Clark and Danny Elfman.

�I�d say this was a dream come true,� said Paul Reubens in Hollywood, California, �but I never dared to dream The Playhouse would join Adult Swim�s amazing line-up of cool shows! Well, maybe I did dream of it a couple of times. OK, it�s a dream come true!�

�We�re all huge fans of Pee-wee�s Playhouse and we�re really happy that it will be a part of Adult Swim,� said Mike Lazzo, Cartoon Network senior vice president of programming and production, responsible for Adult Swim.

Paul 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-wee�s Big Adventure, co-written by Reubens and directed by Tim Burton, was a commercial and critical success, which led to the series Pee-wee�s Playhouse and the 1988 movie Big Top Pee-wee.

Since that time, Reubens has acted in film and television, earning an Emmy nomination for his recurring role on TV�s Murphy Brown and garnering critical acclaim in Ted Demme�s Blow, where he joined a cast including Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Franka Potente. He stars with Lukas Haas, James King and Thomas Jane in David Arquette�s directorial-debut slasher film, The Tripper, and next can be seen in the upcoming feature Reno 911! Miami. His voice can be heard in many films, including Dr. Dolittle, Teacher�s Pet� The Movie, Rugrats and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pee-wee�s Playhouse joins the Adult Swim lineup that already includes top-rated original comedies such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Boondocks, Robot Chicken and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; acquired series Family Guy, Futurama and American Dad; and action/anim� series like InuYasha, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Samurai Champloo. Adult Swim remains the #1 ad-supported basic cable network among young adult viewers, ranking in April 2006 as the top cable network in delivery of its target demos, adults 18-34, adults 18-24, men 18-34 and men 18-24, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.

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.





  [june 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[09/16/25 - 04:46 PM]
Apple's Global Hit Drama "The Morning Show" Renewed for Season Five
Said renewal comes ahead of the season four premiere due tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17.

[09/16/25 - 03:39 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" and College Football on ESPN/ABC Both Off to Stellar Starts in 2025
ABC is off to its best three-week start ever, averaging 7.8 million viewers per game.

[09/16/25 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is the No. 1 Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night
"20/20" ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program on Friday night in Total Viewers (2.457 million).

[09/16/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in All Three Measures
For the 2nd week in a row, "Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.

[09/16/25 - 02:45 PM]
FOX NFL Smashes All-Time Viewership Records with Week 2 Super Bowl Rematch
A massive 33.8 million viewers delivers FOX Sports its best-ever regular season Sunday telecast, most-watched Week 2 NFL telecast on record and more all-time viewership highs!

[09/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 8: "Canelo vs. Crawford" Packs a Punch, "Wednesday" Season 2 Joins Most Popular List
In movies, "KPop Demon Hunters" danced its way back to No. 1 on the English Film list with 22.6 million views.

[09/16/25 - 11:01 AM]
NFL Christmas Gameday Is Back with a New Line-Up of On-Air Booth Talent in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, Minnesota
Netflix's NFL Christmas Gameday 2024 reached 65 million U.S. viewers, according to Nielsen.

[09/16/25 - 11:00 AM]
Prime Video Announces October 23 Premiere Date for "Allen Iv3rson"
The three-part docuseries is about the captivating life of basketball legend and global sensation Allen Iverson, whose authentic voice and unapologetic expression of style paved the way for future generations and revolutionized the culture of the NBA.

[09/16/25 - 10:01 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Prime Minister" Debuts September 30
The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary.

[09/16/25 - 09:56 AM]
Daytime Emmy-Nominated "The Jennifer Hudson Show" Comes to Streaming Audiences for Free on Tubi
Starting today, fans can stream each episode of season four of "The Jennifer Hudson Show" for free on Tubi the day after it airs on linear television.

[09/16/25 - 09:30 AM]
"On the Bench" -- NBC Sports Introduces Dedicated Team Analysts Seated Courtside for Peacock NBA Monday Throughout 2025-26 NBA Season
Rather than sitting next to the play-by-play voice, the analysts will be positioned near the assistant coaches of their assigned team during the action, listening in on huddles and timeouts, and delivering information straight from the bench.

[09/16/25 - 09:01 AM]
"Superman" Soars Onto HBO Max Exclusively on September 19
HBO Max will feature an in-app "Superman" takeover offering viewers a transformed homepage and unique user experience.

[09/16/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Deathwatch" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In the shadowy world of espionage, Sam Fisher is a rumor and a legend. Pulled back into action, he must help a new recruit unravel a global conspiracy.

[09/16/25 - 09:01 AM]
Bravo Embarks on the Ultimate Fish-Out-of-Water Social Experiment When "Wife Swap: The Real Housewives Edition" Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9 P.M. ET/PT
"The Real Housewives" featured are Angie Katsanevas (Salt Lake City), Emily Simpson (Orange County), Melissa Gorga (New Jersey) and Dr. Wendy Osefo (Potomac).

[09/16/25 - 08:45 AM]
ESPN and the NWSL Announce Supplemental Media Rights Agreement
Under the agreement, ABC and ESPN networks will carry 16 more regular-season games each year, increasing the total number of NWSL matches available on The Walt Disney Company networks from 17 to 33 per season.