Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang will celebrate the holidays this season with a new TV special, while the rest of the iconic specials will air again for free on PBS.
Apple TV+, which became the new home to the Peanuts franchise in 2020, will debut a special for New year’s Eve called “For Auld Lang Syne” on Dec. 10, Variety reported. It will be the first Peanuts TV special without Charlie Brown’s or Snoopy’s names in the title.
The new special will be the second New Year’s Eve-themed Peanuts installment after “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown,” which debuted on CBS in 1986.
“For Auld Lang Syne” also marks the first new original holiday special to come after Apple partnered with WildBrain, Peanuts Worldwide and Lee Mendelson Film Productions to offer new original series and specials along with the library of existing favorites, according to Variety.
Last year, Peanuts fans was upset when Apple TV+ announced it would have the exclusive rights to the holiday specials, which essentially removed them from traditional broadcast TV.
Following the backlash, Apple struck a deal with PBS to restore the specials back to free television.
So while Apple TV+ will continue to stream “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” this fall, the iconic specials will also air on PBS and PBS Kids on select dates at times.
The schedule is as follows:
- “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” airs on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m. PT
- “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” will air on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 4:30 p.m. PT
- “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will air on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 4:30 p.m. PT.