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TL;DR: 

  • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and other Peanuts holiday specials will not air on PBS or other TV stations in 2022. 
  • Apple TV+ is the exclusive home of the specials. 
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas and the other Peanuts specials will stream for free on select dates in 2022.  
Peanuts gang in the pumpkin patch in 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'
‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ | Apple TV+

Don’t look for Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang on broadcast TV this year. After airing for the past couple of years on PBS, the beloved holiday specials will be available exclusively on Apple TV+ in 2022. 

‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ and other Peanuts specials won’t air on PBS in 2022

In 2020, Apple snatched up the rights to It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The switch to streaming meant that for the first time in decades, the animated holiday specials wouldn’t air on TV. The move prompted a serious outcry and led to a last-minute deal that allowed the specials to air on PBS. 

Unfortunately, that deal was short-lived. The Peanuts specials will not air on PBS in 2022, the network confirmed to Showbiz Cheat Sheet in an email. 

The Peanuts holidays specials will stream on Apple TV+

Peanuts gang around the Christmas tree in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ | Apple TV+

Instead of airing on TV, the Peanuts holidays specials will stream exclusively on Apple TV+. That includes the trio of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, as well as I Want a Dog for Christmas and Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales. 

Apple TV+ subscribers will also be able to stream The Snoopy Show holiday collection, an Apple TV+ original. The streamer is also home to Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! and It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!

You can stream the Peanuts Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials for free  

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While the Peanuts holiday specials won’t air on PBS or another television network in 2022, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to shell out $4.99 per month to watch them on Apple TV+. The Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas specials will all be available to stream for free in 2022 for a limited amount of time. 

  • It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown streams for free from Friday, Oct. 29 to Monday, Oct. 31. 
  • A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving streams for free from Wednesday, Nov. 23 to Sunday, Nov. 27. 
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas streams for free from Thursday, Dec. 22 to Sunday, Dec. 25. 

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