LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Viewers may be surprised this Thanksgiving and Christmas not to find Peanuts Gang episodes on mainstream television.
While three of the Charlie Brown specials: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” have aired on PBS, it will now only appear on Apple TV+.
PBS revealed in a tweet that the company no longer has the rights to air the specials.
““Regretfully, PBS does not have the rights to distribute the Peanuts specials this year. We’ll all have to watch for the Great Pumpkin in a different pumpkin patch this Halloween,” said PBS.
It’s the second time that the specials will not air on broadcast television. In 2020, the specials moved exclusively to Apple TV+ after Apple acquired the rights to the Peanuts franchise in 2018. Previously, the specials aired from 1966 to 2000 on CBS and from 2001 to 2020 on ABC according to WOOD TV.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired in 1965, has earned the best rating from Vulture, and voters on The Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
“This remains the best Peanuts holiday special because it’s the only one that simply relates the joys of a secular holiday season without shying away from Christmas’s faith-based reason,” Vulture Contributor Simon Abrams wrote, “Linus’s speech is still an all-time seasonal highlight, as is Charlie Brown’s many thwarted attempts at finding a Christmas tree. His struggle to find meaning during the holiday season is very relatable, and probably one of the most moving programs that mainstream television has produced.
These three episodes remain the most popular and re-aired of the 35 original Peanuts specials produced until 1992, and PBS was successful in making a deal with Apple to stream them in 2021.
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Apple will be allowing people to view the episodes for free with an account for a limited time. The Halloween special will be free for streaming from Oct. 28 until Oct. 31, the Thanksgiving special can be streamed from Nov. 23 until Nov. 27, and the Christmas special can be streamed from Dec. 22 until Dec. 25.
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