October is here, which means the Halloween season is as well. That means families will soon be searching for ways to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the classic 1966 Peanuts TV special. It’s The Great Pumpkin is only available to stream on Apple TV+, which has streaming rights to most of the Peanuts library.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown first aired on CBS on Oct. 27, 1966. It aired on broadcast television in the U.S. every year for over half a century until October 2020, when it was only available on Apple TV+. After a great uproar on social media, Apple and PBS signed a pact to air the special on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. No deal has been announced for 2022 yet, but the 2021 deal was not announced until Oct. 12, so it is possible the two sides could come to terms soon.
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Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month, and a seven-day free trial is available for new subscribers. Apple device users can also get a three-month free trial. Subscribers get access to dozens of classic Peanuts specials, including A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Apple has also debuted four new specials produced by WildBrain Studios, Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne; Snoopy Presents: It’s The Small Things, Charlie Brown; Snoopy Presents: To Mom (And Dad), With Love; and Snoopy Presents: Lucy’s School. The animated series Snoopy in Space and The Snoopy Show are also available on Apple TV+.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown remains one of the most believed Peanuts specials. The story centers on Lunis deciding to spend Halloween night in a pumpkin patch because he is convinced the Great Pumpkin will arrive to deliver him presents. Meanwhile, the rest of the Peanuts gang goes out trick-or-treating. The special also includes a fan-favorite scene with Snoopy getting into his imaginary battle with the World War I flying ace, The Red Baron. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz wrote the special, which Bill Melendez directed. The Emmy-nominated special also features a memorable score from Vince Guaraldi.
Snoopy will soon be going to space. Last week, NASA announced that a Snoopy stuffed animal will be included in the Artemis I mission to the Moon. “Snoopy will be the zero gravity indicator aboard the capsule, which serves a very important purpose: to visually illustrate when the spacecraft has reached the weightlessness of microgravity,” NASA said in a statement. Artemis I’s next launch window is Nov. 12-27.
