First broadcast in 1966, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown has been a staple of both Peanuts as a franchise and the holiday season for decades. However, as the result of a new exclusivity deal with Apple TV+, this year will mark the first time in over five decades that the special will not air on broadcast TV.
Based on Charles Schulz's Peanuts strip, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown focuses on Linus, who is marking Halloween by awaiting the arrival of The Great Pumpkin, which is essentially the Halloween version of Santa Claus. The rest of the Peanuts gang traditionally celebrate Halloween with trick-or-treating and parties with costumes and Jack-o’-Lanterns, while Linus remains steadfast in his faith that the Great Pumpkin will arise from a pumpkin patch and travel around the world to deliver treats to children.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is the third TV special based on Peanut and originally aired on CBS before moving to ABC in 2001. The program was nominated for an Emmy Award is generally considered one of the classic Peanuts holiday specials, sitting alongside such others as 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas and 1973's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. These three holiday specials have generally aired annually on broadcast TV, making them a staple of seasonal television.
However, according to a press release from Apple TV+, all of the Peanuts holiday specials have been licensed to an exclusive deal on the streaming service, which will apparently result in them leaving broadcast TV. Currently, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown will be available to stream starting today, while A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas will come to the service on Nov. 18 and Dec. 4, respectively.
Still, a paid subscription may not be required to access the content at all times, as Apple TV+ noted in its press release that It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will air for free from Oct. 30 until Nov. 1. For their part, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be available for free until Nov. 25 until Nov. 27, while A Charlie Brown Christmas is available from Dec. 11 until Dec. 13. This means that the programs will still be widely available, though not in the format with which many longtime fans are most familiar.
Apple TV+'s announcement is the latest move in the streaming service's approach to the Peanuts franchise. In the same announcement, the streaming service confirmed it had renewed Snoopy in Space for a second season and will create new holiday specials for Mother’s Day, Earth Day and Back to School. These are all in addition to previously announced content such as The Snoopy Show and 70th anniversary documentary film centered on Peanuts. All in all, Apple TV+ is looking to expand the Peanuts franchise in new directions, even if they might result in massive breaks with tradition.
Overall, it's unclear at this time just how people will respond to the absence of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas on broadcast TV. More people have been moving to online streaming and away from over-the-air broadcast, but those who've made a tradition of watching the three specials will have to do so differently this year, and likely for years to come.
Apple TV+, which costs $4.99 a month, is available online and through Apple products, Roku, Amazon FireTV devices and select smart televisions.