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 continuous production ever 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,. The series has been nominated for several Gemini Awards, Canadian Screen Awards and Emmy Awards. It has won the Sylvania Television Award for Best Pre-School Children's Series – Live-Action twice, in 2006 and 2012; its first win broke the 8-year tie between Sesame Street and Barney & Friends.

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)
 * Pier Paquette as Kuu (puppet) (1999-2002)
 * Marko Dragic as Dada (puppet) (2000-2002) and U-Tan (puppet) (2002-2005)
 * Jim Timmerman as U-Tan (puppet) (2005-2008)
 * George Gillick as U-Tan (puppet) (2008-2022)
 * Mark Huldahl as Poupo (puppet/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 Tshuma 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 English-speaking actors, including Jeff Manning as the voice of Wan Wan and Lynn Eve Harris as the voice of Kuu. 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 with a second unaired pilot. 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 the adaptation, while Calgary musician Mason Wallman and his Japanese-Canadian wife Kasumi Wallman were brought in to write the lyrics and record backing tracks for English-language versions of songs from the original Japanese series that were set to be used in the adaptation, while also working on original songs alongside Aaron.

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.
 * A animated spinoff based on the co-production was released 1 year later after it came out.