“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special” is a fan favorite despite being from 1973 and only 30 minutes long. The iconic Peanuts characters have appeared in newspapers since 1950, and the art has not changed since. With the modernization and changes in film and drawing itself, it is interesting how Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang have kept true to themselves.
Charlie Brown comic strip
On October 2 1950, the Peanuts comic strip first appeared in newspapers, but the character Charlie Brown existed before then.
In 1948, Charles M. Schultz, creator of Peanuts, named a character Charlie Brown in his first weekly cartoon series Li’l Folks. This appeared in his hometown newspaper in St. Paul.
The 1950 strip is iconic because Charlie Brown himself is not wearing his iconic zig-zag shirt, as well as the illustration being slightly different than we see today. Schulz added the shirt in December later that year.
While Charlie Brown changed his shirt, Snoopy was the character that changed the most. Initially starting by walking on four-legs, his change to a two-legged character pushed him to the forefront of the comics. This happened within ten years of the strip being created.
Lucy, Linus, Sally, and Schroeder initially appeared as toddlers, much younger than their characters are seen today. Lucy’s aging contributed to her ability to be an incredibly sarcastic and slightly mean character, while still having a soft spot.
Linus’s blanket became his trademark and growing up did not make this disappear. He initially had glasses, but it interfered with Schulz’s drawing and he removed them.
Franklin joined the group in 1968 to sway American on ideas on racial diversity. His first cartoons with the character brought the most criticism, but soon became a familiar character with the comics.
Charlie Brown holiday specials
On December 9 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” premiered in the US. Charlie Brown producer Lee Mendelson worked with Schulz and animator Bill Melendez to create a family-friendly holiday special.
The morals, story and music of the special are key reasons why people still remember this special. “Christmas Time is Here” was sung for the show by a children’s choir out of California. These kids were happy to do it for $5 and some ice cream. Deliberately sounding unprofessional, the music matched the theme of the story and stays an iconic Christmas song.
There is not a lot of action in the story, but the new perspective the children gave to Christmas was enough to make it memorable. The idea that children are the ones teaching us morals was not something done a lot before then.
With the ideas of anti-commercialism and authenticity, the story is helpful now more than ever. The style of drawing also draws audiences both old and young.
Thanksgiving special
“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” was the third of the big three holiday specials to come out, the Christmas one premiering in 1965 and Halloween in 1966. The Thanksgiving episode did not make an appearance until 1973 where it aired on CBS.
Much like the others, Schulz was a key contributor to the special, as he wrote the script to ensure it remained faithful to his comics. Something unique about this episode is that it was the first to be a completely original, nothing taken from the comics.
The song “Little Birdie” was an original for the special, unique in the way that it featured vocals. Most of the music in these specials were instrumental, but this song had an adult singer. An adult voice was also unusual because most adults in Peanuts had been played by a trombone with a plunger mute.
Much like the others, the simplicity, relatability and moral undertones won over the hearts of America. This special earned an Emmy award in 1974, giving it a permanent spot in history.
The special aired in CBS until 1989 until it moved to ABC in 2001 where it aired until 2019. It too moved to Apple TV + and remains there.
The nostalgia and love for this special remains in its relatability and characters. They are all flawed, but so entertaining and heartwarming to watch. It is funny, but sweet.
Other Peanuts specials
Surprisingly, there are 49 Charlie Brown specials. The most recent special released over this past summer in 2025. Since all of them have their own plot lines, viewers can watch them in whatever order they would like as long as they know the characters beforehand.
Apple TV+ has the rights to these specials. The service has not announced a next project, but that does not mean we will not get another.
Where to watch
Right now, the Christmas special is on Apple TV+. Around the holidays, Apple TV+ often makes streaming free during select dates. The service clearly knows that the Christmas special is an important one in many households.
Apple TV+ has allowed viewers to stream these specials during certain times of the year, but we will not know if that will continue forever.
The service launched a Black Friday offer where new subscribers can purchase streaming for 50% off for six months. This brings the price from $9.99 to $4.99 a month.
They also offer a seven-day free trial, so you can have a marathon that week. Also, purchasing Apple hardware will get you free Apple TV+ for three months.
While none of these are permanent free solutions, they can get you the ability to view these loved specials during the holidays.
Love for Charlie Brown
While they are difficult to view, people still find much nostalgia in the Charlie Brown holiday specials. Whether you watched it as a kid or as an adult when it came out, you can learn some moral values and find empathy for the characters.
The merchandise for these characters is everywhere and they market for all types of people. Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown are everywhere. The characters may have changed when they were first introduced, but the images are preserved in time and will likely stay the same for a long time.
Hopefully, you are able to watch the holiday specials in a timely manner. Otherwise, hope they get on more than one streaming service that is more accessible. Try to make the Thanksgiving dinner that Snoopy prepares this holiday season.
