Since the mid-’60s, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts Gallery have been welcome guests at the family table each holiday season. It began with Christmas in ’65 and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving followed in ’73. This year, families can continue this cinematic tradition by watching this festive feast of a film on Apple TV+ for free.
For years, ABC and CBS were the primary homes for the Charlie Brown films. However, in 2020, Apple secured exclusive streaming rights, which for a time put many of the holiday films behind a paywall. However, in celebration of the holiday special’s 50th anniversary, Apple is allowing everyone to watch it for free, without even subscribing.
‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ will be available for free to watch for all fans this year
Rather than PBS, ABC, or its very first home, CBS – having premeired there on November 20, 1973, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be available to watch solely on Apple TV+. Typically, an Apple TV+ subscription costs $9.99 a month, following a seven-week free trial. This change of pace sparked a strong backlash in 2020 and, this, year, things will look a little different once again.
RELATED: The Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Is More Popular Than Ever This Year
On November 6, Apple announced some of its plans for Snoopy, who originates from the comic strips by artist Charles Schulz. From November 18 and 19, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! as well as A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be included in a free viewing window, no Apple TV+ subscription necessary.
Similarly, A Charlie Brown Christmas will be available to watch for free on December 16 and 17.
What’s next for Snoopy?
Snoopy’s new dog house residing on Apple TV+ has some fans saying “Good grief!” But Apple is not just hosting the original films; it’s making new ones of its own, along with some shows. The program Snoopy in Space, which ran from 2019 to 2021, received a Daytime Emmys Award nomination for Outstanding Short Format Children’s Program.
Even before that, 2015’s The Peanuts Movie was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, losing only to Inside Out. But it also received nominations for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature. The ongoing The Snoopy Show will present its second holiday feature this December 23.
