For the show's second and third seasons, Nickelodeon added a variety of animated shorts in between the main puppet/actor segments.
Before she created the Pinwheel series, Dr. Vivian Horner was the director of research for The Electric Company (1971) on PBS.
When Nickelodeon premiered their "Nick Jr." preschool block in January 1988, a rerun of Pinwheel was the first-ever show to air during the new block. Pinwheel aired during Nick Jr. until July 1990.