Adult Swim Reopens 'Pee-wee's Playhouse'

[Steve84]

Adult Swim Reopens 'Pee-wee's Playhouse'
Show will join AS lineup in July

Zap2It.com
Published June 5, 2006

Adult Swim is bringing another show populated by flesh-and-blood actors to its
late-night world, but this one fits a little better into the cartoon landscape.

Starting Monday, July 10, "Pee-wee's Playhouse" will join the Adult Swim weeknight
lineup. Cartoon Network's late-night alter ego plans to air all 45 episodes of the
half-hour series, plus a 1988 Christmas special that has rarely seen the light of
day since its initial airing.

"We're all huge fans of 'Pee-wee's Playhouse,' and we're really happy that it will
be a part of Adult Swim," says Mike Lazzo, who oversees Adult Swim for Cartoon
Network.

Paul Reubens, who created Pee-wee as a member of the L.A. comedy troupe the
Groundlings in the late 1970s, pronounces himself delighted to be part of Adult
Swim: I'd say this was a dream come true, but I never dared to dream the
'Playhouse' would join Adult Swim's amazing lineup of cool shows!" he says. "Well,
maybe I did dream of it a couple of times. OK, it's a dream come true!"

"Pee-wee's Playhouse" as part of CBS' Saturday-morning lineup in 1986 and ran off
and on for five years. The candy-colored show featured animation and sketch comedy
aimed at kids; Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and "Law & Order" star S. Epatha
Merkerson all played recurring characters.

The show ended after Reubens' 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at an adult
theater in Sarasota, Fla. Since then, Reubens has appeared in such movies as
"Blow" and "Mystery Men," made a number of TV guest appearances (notably "Murphy
Brown") and has done extensive voiceover work. Later this year he'll appear in
"Reno 911!: Miami," a movie based on the Comedy Central show.

"Pee-wee's Playhouse" is the second live-action show Adult Swim has added to its
lineup recently. A two-week run of "Saved by the Bell" earlier this year met with
widespread derision among the channel's devotees.