| Alt Name: | Kids Show |
| Opentheme: | "New Theme" by PFFR |
| Endtheme: | "Goodbye Song" by PFFR |
| Composer: | Chris Anderson |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 16 (+ pilot) |
| Location: | New York City |
| Cinematography: | John Tanzer |
| Camera: | Multi-camera |
| Runtime: | 21–22 minutes |
| Related: | Sesame Street |
Wonder Showzen is an American adult puppet black comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee of PFFR.
Described as a children's television series for adults, the show's format is a parody of educational PBS Kids shows such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company (e.g. use of stock footage, puppetry, and clips of children being interviewed). In addition to general controversial comedy, it satirizes politics, religion, war, sex and culture with black comedy.
Wonder Showzen was created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee, who originally made an early concept of it back in 1999, and pitched to the USA Network in 2000, but after a few minutes of viewing, executives there quickly concluded it did not fit the network's programming style.[1] However, Viacom was re-branding MTV2 and made Wonder Showzen part of its new programming lineup. It aired as part of Sic 'Em Fridays, along with Dirty Sanchez and Wildboyz. The pilot and early concept were named simply "Kids Show". The Wonder Showzen theme song was also called 'Kids Show'. Reruns of the show also aired on MTV and Comedy Central. The first episode had animated segments provided by Raw Power, while the rest of the series had animated segments done by Augenblick Studios.
Ben Q. Jones, who was a member of the art collective Paper Rad, did some animations for the series, before continuing to work with PFFR again on his failed Adult Swim pilot Neon Knome, which was rejected, yet turned a show on Cartoon Network called The Problem Solverz, which Jones himself created. Another notable crew member who worked on Wonder Showzen was Mark Marek, who also worked on Cartoon Network's Mad and Nickelodeon's KaBlam!; he created Yuck, Yuck, Goose, and his sidekick, his Butt for Wonder Showzen.
MTV released the first season of Wonder Showzen on DVD March 28, 2006. The second season of Wonder Showzen premiered on March 31, 2006, and had its season-two finale starring Clarence on May 19, 2006, on MTV2. This season was released on DVD October 10, 2006, with an easter egg that featured an animation contest. The grand prize was announced as the winner's animation appearing on "the next DVD", but the creators later said a third season was unlikely,[2] and MTV afterward canceled the show.
It aired in Canada on MTV2, the United Kingdom and Ireland on MTV Two, MTV and TMF, Australia on MTV, Germany and Italy on MTV Entertainment, Latin America on MTV Latin America and in the Baltics on MTV Networks Baltic. In Turkey, it aired on Euro D with graphic scenes cut.
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama said "Wonder Showzen is so weirdly funny the top of your head will burst and your skull will fly out."[3]
Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, who PFFR would later make shows for, said "It's a show about kids, for freaks, and we love it."[4]
The first season holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Eric André also praised Wonder Showzen, commenting "'Wonder Showzen' is one of my favorite shows of all time. When I first saw it, I thought it was so funny and new and original and edgy and insane and subversive. I didn't know comedy could do that. It redefined what I thought you could do with a TV show.". He's even cited the show as an influence behind the writing and editing of The Eric André Show on Adult Swim.[5]
The series was also praised by TV Guide and The New York Times.
| DVD set | Region 1 release date | Bonus Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2006 | Auditions and Outtakes, Rejected Sketch (Storytime with Flavor Flav), Special Guest Commentaries, 2nd Season Sneek Peek, Locker Poster, Coloring Page, "Japoney Appoe" Music Video. | ||
| Wonder Showzen: Season Two | More Auditions and Outtakes, Guest Commentaries on select episodes, Rejected Sketch (The Adventures of Scooter McJimmy: Hillbilly Boy Genius), Easter Egg, Storybook. | ||
| Wonder Showzen: The Complete Series | March 16, 2021 | A re-packaging of the original DVDs without the physical extras, such as the locker poster from season 1 or the storybook in season 2. |
A gift set containing both seasons was scheduled for release on December 12, 2006, but it was cancelled.[6] A similar set eventually released on March 16, 2021. The show is also streaming on Paramount+, although episodes "History" and "Time" are missing.