After a Year Without the Peanuts, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Is Returning to TV

Last year was rough for Peanuts fans used to spending the holidays with Snoopy and the gang. For the first time in more than half a century, the specials A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown didn't air on network television. After that brief hiatus, the tradition is being revived. WXIN reports that the Peanuts holiday specials are returning to TV in 2021, starting with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in October.

Charles Schulz's beloved characters weren't impossible to find around the holidays in 2020. AppleTV+ acquired the rights to the Peanuts programs that year and made them exclusive to the streaming platform. In the spirit of tradition, the three most famous specials were available to stream for free without an account around their respective holidays, but this didn't satisfy everyone. For many people, the appeal of the shows is watching them at the same time as other fans around the country each year.

That's the exact experience viewers will be treated to this holiday season. The nostalgic programming will air on PBS and PBS Kids after playing on ABC from 2001 to 2019. First up is the Halloween special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which is scheduled for Sunday, October 24. You can tune into A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 21, and A Charlie Brown Christmas on Sunday, December 19. All three specials will air at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Though it started as a comic strip, many fans known the Peanuts from their animated television appearances. A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first special to bring the characters to the screen, but It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was what cemented the tradition of watching the Peanuts around the holidays. Here are more facts about the Halloween classic.