On July 31, 2023, the news of Reubens' death came as a shock to documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, who had spent a year trying to convince him to make the ambitious two-part documentary “Pee-wee as Himself,” now streaming on HBO Max, and over 40 hours interviewing him on camera.

This fascinating though incomplete documentary tells Paul Reubens’s story despite the subject’s doubts about the project.

The 2-part HBO documentary reintroduces Paul Reubens to viewers who only knew him as Pee-wee Herman.