Where to Watch Paul Reubens’ Movies and TV Shows

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for his era-defining character Pee-wee Herman, died July 30 at 70 after privately battling cancer for several years. He leaves behind a body of work for children and adults alike. Here's where you can stream his best and most popular roles, including all the Pee-wee Herman movies and TV shows and his most memorable non-Pee-wee appearances.

'The Pee-wee Herman Show' (1981)

Pee-wee Herman started as a nightclub act in the 1970s, satirizing kids' shows of the '50s. Reubens transitioned him to a family-friendly style in the '80s, but this HBO special from 1981 captured him when he was still for grown-ups. It's a concert film of his stage show at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. Pee-wee Herman returned to the stage (and HBO) in 2011 for The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway, but that one is currently unavailable to stream. 

Watch on Max

'Pee-wee's Big Adventure' (1985) 

After the HBO special and memorable appearances in Cheech & Chong movies and on Late Night With David Letterman, Reubens' cinematic breakthrough came in the 1985 film Pee-wee's Big Adventure, which was also Tim Burton's directorial debut. Reubens wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol and starred as Pee-wee, a peculiar, excitable man who goes on a cross-country odyssey to retrieve his stolen bicycle. The film was a box-office smash that launched Burton's career and helped make Pee-wee Herman a household name. 

Rent or buy on Amazon

'Saturday Night Live' (1985) 

Reubens famously auditioned for but was not cast in Saturday Night Live in 1980. Not getting cast was a blessing in disguise, as it led him to focus on Pee-wee Herman and forge his own path in the entertainment industry. In 1985, he finally made it to SNL, triumphantly hosting an episode in character as Pee-wee Herman. It's an unusual episode, as he's Pee-wee in every sketch. 

Watch on Peacock 

'Pee-wee's Playhouse' (1986-1990) 

After the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, CBS greenlit a Pee-wee Herman Saturday morning kids' show called Pee-wee's Playhouse. The variety series was a hit with kids and adults thanks to its surreal but wholesome humor. It won 15 Emmys throughout its five-season run and helped teach kids that it was OK to be different. 

Rent or buy on Amazon 

'Big Top Pee-wee' (1988) 

The second Pee-wee Herman movie has no connection to the first. In it, Pee-wee wakes up one morning to find a traveling circus in his backyard. He falls in love with the trapeze artist Gina Piccolapupula (Valeria Golino) and attempts to join the circus as a tightrope walker. The film was much less critically and commercially successful than Pee-wee's Big Adventure — nobody wanted to see Pee-wee making out, which happens for about five minutes — but it has some fun, quirky stuff, like Vance the Talking Pig.  

Watch on Prime Video

'Mystery Men' (1999) 

Reubens experienced a severe career downturn after he was arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater in 1991. He was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but the negative media attention tarnished his image. His comeback started in the mid-'90s with an Emmy-nominated guest-starring role on Murphy Brown, but his most memorable part from this time is eccentric superhero the Spleen in the 1999 superhero comedy Mystery Men. It was his largest non-Pee-wee Herman film performance and most prominent comeback role at the time. The film was a box office flop but became a cult classic, and his hilarious performance as a minor hero whose power is extremely potent flatulence is one of the reasons why the film endures. 

Watch on Peacock

'Blow' (2001)

The most successful dramatic, non-Pee-wee Herman role of Paul Reubens' career was in the 2001 dorm room favorite Blow. Director Ted Demme made excellent use of Reubens' eccentricity in a much different context as drug trafficker Derek Foreal, who partners with George Jung (Johnny Depp) to import marijuana and cocaine into the United States. The Scarface-esque movie is unlike anything else in Reubens' filmography. He could have had a career as a character actor in drama films after this, but it didn't happen that way. 

Rent or buy on Amazon

'Pee-wee's Big Holiday' (2016) 

This 2016 Netflix film was Pee-wee Herman's last hurrah. The Judd Apatow-produced feature finds Pee-wee traveling to New York City to attend his special friend Joe Manganiello's birthday party. It's a sweet little movie and was Reubens' final film role. 

Watch on Netflix

'Bob's Burgers' (2023)

In the later years of his career, Reubens mostly did guest spots in live-action or animated TV shows. He made a memorable appearance as a member of a vampire council alongside Tilda Swinton, Wesley Snipes and many others in a well-regarded episode of What We Do in the Shadows in 2019. As of now, his final performance was a voice role as a masseuse named Pat in a 2023 episode of Bob's Burgers. He was distinctive even in small vocal-only performances. 

Watch on Hulu