Peek-a-Boo! (Canadian TV series)

Peek-a-Boo! is a Canadian live-action preschool edutainment television series produced by Stampede Pictures and in association with the. The series is based on the Japanese series Inai Inai Baa! ( いないいないばあっ! ). The series premiered on October 9, 1999 and has been in production since. In Canada, the series has aired since it began on. The series began its U.S. run on as part of the  block, later aired on  stations through  and now airs on Hallmark Kids & Family.

The series is produced at Stampede Pictures' facility in, ,.

Cast

 * Kristian Michaels as Wan Wan (body costume/voice) (1999-present) and U-Tan (voice) (2003-2022)
 * Jolene Holliday as Meow Meow (body costume/voice) (2019-present)
 * as Kuu (voice) (1999-2002)
 * as Dada (voice) (2000-2002)
 * Lindsay Knickerbocker as Popo (voice) (2023-present)
 * Jessica Lassila as Jessica (1999-2002)
 * Marcie Asquith as Marcie (2003-2006)
 * Stacey Gislesen as Stacey (2007-2010)
 * Liliana Alcantara as Liliana (2011-2015)
 * Ellen Serrurier as Ellen (2016-2018)
 * Elizabeth Beale as Liz (2019-2020)
 * Kiana Thomas as Kiana (2021-2022)
 * Susana as Susana (2023-present)

Development and early years
The idea of making a North American version of Inai Inai Baa! was the idea of David James Cook and Francine Lassila of Stampede Pictures, a production studio based in, ,. The two encountered the series at a children's film and TV convention in in 1997, and subsequently struck a deal with NHK to produce a North American adaptation of the series. signed up to co-produce the series and broadcast it in the U.S., while signed up as a co-producer and the show's Canadian broadcaster.

An unaired pilot was filmed in mid-1998 on the Inai Inai Baa! set in, with the voices of the puppet and animated characters overdubbed by American expatriate actors. The co-host alongside Wan Wan was Jo Summerhayes, who was the original choice for the first "big sister", but had to step down from the role before production officially commenced due to union issues.

Production began in late-1998 in Calgary. Jessica Lassila, the daughter of Francine Lassila, was chosen as the replacement for Summerhayes. -based actress/puppeteer Kristian Michaels was cast as Wan Wan, and opted to voice the character with a much different, more childlike voice than in the Japanese version. Aaron C. Cook, a folk musician and David James Cook's brother, was brought in to write and compose original songs for both the American and Canadian adaptations, while Calgary musician Mason Wallman and his Japanese-born wife Kasumi Hakamada-Wallman were brought in to write English lyrics for songs from the original Japanese series that were set to be used in said adaptations.

Trivia

 * This was the first co-production to use original songs and background music, and the only one to have Wan Wan played by a female actress.
 * The translated versions of the Japanese songs and nursery rhymes are the same as the American version.
 * A animated spinoff based on the co-production was released 1 year later after it came out.