The Peanuts Holiday Specials have been a TV staple for generations. But in recent years, it’s become more and more difficult to watch them.
If you’re old enough to remember, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” were all appointment viewing back in the day. You’d grab the latest issue of TV Guide at the checkout of your local grocery store, leaf through the listings, and find out when your favorite Charlie Brown special was airing. Or, maybe you subscribed to your local newspaper and looked it up there. And if you were really lucky, you happened to be watching TV while the network ran the promo. We’ll take a look at some of those below.
I love the Peanuts Holiday Specials. So much so that, years ago, I bought a 3 DVD boxed set with all of the specials listed above. Each DVD had an extra special on it, too. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” segued into the sequel “The Great Pumpkin Returns.” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” was paired with another November-themed special “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown.” And “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was paired with “It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown.” If you can hunt down those DVDs, I suggest you buy them. Because it’s getting harder and harder to get your Peanuts on in these times of streaming.
Peanuts Holiday Specials: Here’s Where To Stream
Since 2020, Apple TV+ has owned the rights to all things Peanuts. Which means you have to pay to play. Luckily, in 2020 and 2021, enough people complained that Apple allowed PBS to broadcast the specials on on TV. This year, that’s not happening. The trade off? You have a window of a few days to watch each one. You still need to pay for Apple TV+, which sucks. Gimme the good old days of appointment viewing. For free.