The man behind Pee-wee Herman, Paul Reubens (Blow), is ready to truly reveal himself. It’s just unfortunate that his definitive documentary, Pee-wee as Himself, had to come out posthumously.
The HBO Original two-part documentary directed by Matt Wolf premieres Friday, May 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Put together, it’s a three-hour, 20-minute portrait of Reubens. And that’s exactly how the two parts will air on linear HBO — together. You can watch them however you want on Max.
Pee-wee as Himself is centered on “a soul-baring interview” with Reubens, per the synopsis, and is “a window into his never-before-discussed personal life.” It was a particularly lengthy soul-baring interview: Pee-wee as Himself is pieced together from more than 40 hours of interview footage filmed before Reubens’ death in 2023. Wolf also had at his disposal more than 1,000 hours of archival footage and “tens of thousands of never-before-seen photographs” from Reubens’ personal collections, according to HBO.
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“Determined to correct the record and tell the factual story of his life, Reubens excavates his kaleidoscopic influences, origins in the circus and avant-garde performance theater and career choices, while reflecting on the reasoning behind — and the consequences of — severing his beloved alter ego from his authentic self,” the synopsis continues.
Reubens grew up in Sarasota, Florida, before heading west to study at the California Institute of the Arts. He later joined the Groundlings, which is where he first created the Pee-wee Herman character. It took off like a rocket ship. Pee-wee’s Playhouse followed and Reubens basically never broke character in public after that. Well, things changed a bit when, in 1991, he was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater. That definitely comes up.
“Alongside interviews with artists and actors from Pee-wee’s Playhouse and prominent figures in his life, Reubens openly discusses further legal battles, his exoneration, his ultimate resurrection as a public figure, and the apotheosis of Pee-wee as an adored and enduring cultural icon,” HBO said in its announcement. “The result is a revealing, hilarious and complex portrait of Reubens, and a celebration of the enormous and indelible legacy he leaves behind.”
Pee-wee as Himself even peels back the curtain on Pee-wee as Himself: the Sundance selection sees Reubens occasionally sparring with Wolf over creative control of the very documentary they were in the process of making.
Interviewed for the documentary are Reubens’ sister Abby Rubenfeld, artists Gary Panter and Wayne White, actors Lynne Stewart, John Moody, Alison Mork, Natasha Lyonne, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurence Fishburne, Debi Mazar, David Arquette, Laraine Newman and Cassandra Peterson, and filmmakers Tim Burton and Judd Apatow.
Pee-wee as Himself is an Elara and First Love Films production. Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Reubens, Candace Tomarken and Kyle Martin are executive producers, as are Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Sara Rodriguez (for HBO). Koskoff is producer.
Watch the trailer for Pee-wee as Himself below. We’ve also included the full descriptions of both parts of the doc, all in HBO’s own words.
Part One
Debut date: Friday, May 23 (8:00-9:40 p.m. ET/PT)
Part one details Reubens’ childhood and desire to be an actor, inspired by such television shows as Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo and I Love Lucy. He finds acceptance at CalArts, where he hones his performance art skills. At the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings, Reubens creates the alter ego of Pee-wee Herman and puts on a live late-night show that becomes a cult sensation and evolves into a popular tour. The hit 1985 film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure makes him a global sensation. Subsuming himself into the character of Pee-wee, Reubens hides his personal life, and recognizes too late that fame makes for a complicated companion.
Part Two
Debut date: Friday, May 23 (9:40-11:20 p.m. ET/PT)
Reubens’ profile continues to grow with an Emmy-winning weekly Saturday morning television show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which unabashedly celebrates diversity and nonconformity. The episode explores the casting, production design and creative process of the show that ran for five seasons. Reubens talks candidly about his fame as a pop culture icon and the lows he endured as he faced rumors, vilification and the vitriol of the media. Reemerging as a cult figure with cameo roles in films and TV shows, a Broadway revival of his Pee-wee stage show, and a final Pee-wee film, Reubens refuses to have his legacy be defined by media scandals based on false rumors. He shares final words with the public, reinforcing his lifelong dream to bring joy, creativity, and acceptance to everyone.
