The beloved Peanuts holiday specials are not airing on broadcast TV or cable this year, but they will be available to stream for free. Apple acquired the rights to the Peanuts franchise several years ago, and Apple TV+ is now the exclusive home of specials like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Fans without an Apple TV+ subscription can still watch these specials for free, but only during specific two-day periods for each.
If you subscribe to Apple TV+ for $9.99 per month, you can watch the Peanuts holiday specials at your leisure. Otherwise, you’ll need to keep an eye on the calendar. This year, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will be available to stream on Nov. 18 and 19 for free, while A Charlie Brown Christmas will be available for free on Dec. 16 and 17. If those dates line up with your schedule it should be easy, although you may want to download the Apple TV+ app on your device in advance. It is available on smartphones, tablets, computers, smart TVs and streaming devices like Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
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For fans of the old Peanuts productions, this will be enough, but for those interested in what’s coming next, subscribing to Apple TV+ is the only option. The streaming service is creating new Peanuts specials, series and other content, including a New Year’s Eve-themed special to end the year. For Auld Lang Syne premiered in 2021, while this year brings a new Christmas special for The Snoopy Show, premiering on Dec. 1. For Auld Lang Syne is a story about Lucy throwing a New Year’s Eve party herself after learning that her and Charlie Brown’s grandmother can’t visit them. This is technically the second New Year’s Eve special produced in the Peanuts franchise; the first was released in 1986, though it is counted among the more obscure Peanuts holiday specials.
While the older Peanuts specials are typically held in the highest esteem, Apple hopes to expand the catalog with many new productions in the franchise. It is already the exclusive home of the two original series Snoopy in Space and The Snoopy Show. More is expected from Apple and WildBrain Productions in the years to come.
Of course, fans not interested in a subscription or in new content can always turn to hard copies for their favorite holiday specials. At the time of this writing, A Charlie Brown Christmas is available on DVD and Blu-ray for $9.99, while a DVD bundle including A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is available for $21.53 on DVD or $49.99 on Blu-ray. However, it’s not clear if these copies are still in production, which means fans may be subject to the whims of the secondhand market.
For those taking the streaming route, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is streaming on Apple TV+ now and will be available for free on Nov. 18 and 19. A Charlie Brown Christmas will be free on Dec. 16 and 17. Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year if paid annually.
