Pee-wee Herman

As it turns out, Pee-wee’s bike really is at the Alamo! Or will be soon.

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Reubens tackled a wide variety of comedic and dramatic roles during his career.

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Reubens was one of the biggest pop culture figures of the 1980s.

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IFC will air the classic kids’ show on Saturday mornings, with a full 24-hour marathon kicking things off on Thanksgiving.

Pee-wee Herman has long existed in a queer space, though one only subliminally alluded to. Paul Reubens’ feminine boyish persona, oscillating between effeminate gay man and asexual man-child, has long played with ideas of gender expression that comment on an underlying queerness. From the drag queen genie Jambi in Playhouse to Pee-wee’s episodes of crossdressing, from his makeup and exaggerated feminine gestures to the fluctuating inflections of his comical voice, Pee-wee has been deconstructing gender and sexuality norms all along while disguising it as campy comedy. Yet Pee-wee never directly acknowledged the queerness of his imaginative universe and even struggled with embracing it, as an early episode of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” shows. In the Season 2 episode “Pee-wee Catches a Cold,” the host reveals the daily secret word as “Out,” and then immediately falls ill, as if weakened by the idea of being out to the world. But after a 28 year absence from the big screen, Pee-Wee is finally coming out.

In this age of delayed sequels, Paul Reubens has achieved something almost miraculous with Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, delivering a film that is just as joyful, hilarious and wonderfully weird as you hoped. 31 years after Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Reubens has returned to his iconic and enduring character for a new Netflix movie in which Pee-wee Herman is inspired by Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello to take his first-ever vacation. We had a chance to speak with Reubens and Manganiello following the world premiere at SXSW, where the two discussed their bromance and whether or not Pee-wee's Big Holiday is a prequel.