Fans of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang will have to make the switch to streaming if they want to watch the holiday classics this year.
Apple TV+ bought the exclusive rights to the franchise in 2020. But when the "Great Pumpkin" did not air on broadcast television later that year, an outcry from viewers accustomed to the time-honored tradition forced the streaming service to reconsider and it eventually teamed up with PBS for ad-free broadcasts of “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas." In 2021, all three classic Peanuts specials again aired on PBS.
This year, however, PBS confirmed in a tweet that the network doesn't have "the rights to distribute the Peanuts specials."
But there is good news: Apple TV+ is allowing non-subscribers to watch the beloved classics for free on select days throughout the holiday season.
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When Will the Peanuts Holiday Specials Stream for Free on Apple TV+?
Charlie Brown's Halloween special, "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," will be available to stream for free on Oct. 28 to Oct. 31.
"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" will be available to everyone from Nov. 23 through Nov. 27.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" will be available for free from Dec. 23 through Dec. 25.
To Apple TV+ subscribers, the trio of Charlie Brown holiday specials are available to view year-round.
How Can I Watch "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" for free on Apple TV?
In a press release, Apple TV+ provided two-step instructions on how to stream the Peanuts specials:
- Go to tv.apple.com or download the Apple TV app from the App Store wherever you watch shows and movies
- Search for "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," or whichever special you want to watch, and click play.
Two additional "Peanuts" specials will be available to Apple TV+ subscribers starting Dec. 2: “I Want a Dog for Christmas” and “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales."
“Peanuts” made its debut Oct. 2, 1950. The travails of the “little round-headed kid” Charlie Brown and his pals eventually ran in more than 2,600 newspapers, reaching millions of readers in 75 countries.
The 1965 CBS special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” won an Emmy and rerun immortality, and many other specials followed. The Halloween classic, "It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" first aired on CBS in 1966 and eventually moved to ABC in 2001. There was a hit stage musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” The characters also appeared on sheets, stationery, amusement park attractions and countless other products.
Jeannie Schulz, the widow of the comic strip’s creator, said her husband managed to create “recognizable characters that express the humanity of each of us. It hits on a lot of cylinders.”
The strip offered enduring images of kites in trees, Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, tart-tongued Lucy handing out advice for a nickel at what looked like a lemonade stand and Snoopy taking the occasional flight of fancy to the skies of World War I. Phrases such as “security blanket” and “good grief” are a part of the global vernacular. Schulz died in 2000.
