Here's How To Watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown With Your Family This Year
The Great Pumpkin is more elusive than ever in 2022.
Like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch in hopes that the Great Pumpkin will appear, your family will be sorely disappointed if you’re waiting to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on linear TV this year. The Halloween classic has been a network staple airing on CBS, ABC, or PBS since its premiere in 1966. Unfortunately, watching the Charlie Brown special this year will be a little trickier than it has in previous years — but definitely not impossible.
For many viewers, watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a family tradition that’s been passed down from their grandparents and parents. If you grew up watching poor Charlie receive rocks instead of candy when he goes trick-or-treating, then there’s a good chance you want to keep the tradition going with your little ones. After all, despite being released in 1966, the gentle but funny special is one that’s still enjoyed by kids and adults alike.
Honestly, is it even really Halloween without a viewing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? An annual rewatch of the holiday favorite is every bit as essential as carving pumpkins and stealing a few pieces of the good chocolate from your kid’s candy pail.
Read on to find out how you can watch Linus camp out in the pumpkin patch this year.
Is It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown streaming in 2022?
Even though It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown won’t be airing on any linear or cable channels this year, it is streaming on Apple TV+. The company purchased the rights to the Peanuts specials in 2020, and has even branched out into making new content starring Snoopy, Charlie, and the rest of their pals.
Still, in 2021, Apple TV+ ensured that even viewers without access to the streaming service would be able to watch the Peanuts Halloween special by sharing the rights with PBS. On Sept. 29, PBS confirmed the deal doesn’t extend to 2022, tweeting, “Regretfully, PBS does not have the rights to distribute the Peanuts specials this year. We’ll all have to watch for the Great Pumpkin in a different pumpkin patch this Halloween.”
This year, the only place to stream It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on Apple TV+.
Wait, do you need a subscription to Apple TV+ to stream It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?
While Apple TV+ is the exclusive streaming home for It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the streamer isn’t forcing Peanuts fans to sign up in order to watch the special. Linus’ quest to meet the Great Pumpkin will be available for free throughout Halloween weekend from Friday, Oct. 28 to Monday, Oct. 31.
If you are interested in an Apple TV+ subscription, the service costs $4.99 a month. That includes all of the Peanuts specials and a bevy of other children’s programming options, including an adaptation of the children’s book series Amber Brown and a reboot of Ghostwriter. The streamer generally offers new subscribers a free seven-day trial.
Does this mean A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas won’t be airing on TV this year, either?
As of writing, there are no plans for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or A Charlie Brown Christmas to air on TV this year either. But just like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the Peanuts Thanksgiving and Christmas specials will be available for free for a small window of time during the holiday season. According to Apple TV+, you can stream A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving sans subscription from Nov. 23 through Nov. 27, while A Charlie Brown Christmas will be available from Dec. 22 through Dec. 25.
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