Families with a tradition of watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown can already enjoy the classic Peanuts special. But it requires a subscription to Apple TV+ to watch this year – will not be broadcast on a regular TV network.
Watching doesn’t require an Apple device, and the cost is relatively low.
A streaming exclusive
Apple TV+ owns the rights to all Peanuts holiday specials. In 2021, it made a deal with PBS to broadcast them. Not this year.
The public TV network made the announcement via Twitter: “Regretfully, PBS does not have the rights to distribute the Peanuts specials this year.”
That means the only way to once again see Charlie Brown get a bag of rocks, Snoopy take on the Red Baron, and Linus try to present the most sincere pumpkin patch in the world is with a subscription to Apple TV+.
How to watch the Peanuts Halloween special on a range of devices
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is available now on Apple’s streaming service. Apple users play it through the Apple TV application, which is available in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. There’s also a Mac version in that app store. Install any or all of these as you would any software.
Once you have the application installed and running, look around for It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (direct link).
But enjoying the classic holiday special doesn’t require an Apple TV, Mac or other Apple device. The service is watchable on a wide variety of devices, including Windows, Roku and Amazon Fire.
For anyone with a computer running Windows or Chrome OS, watching Apple’s video content is as easy as visiting its website. The same goes for Android phones and tablets. You’ll access the Peanuts special in a browser. You can jump straight to the It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown page.
But Apple made sure there’s a version of the Apple TV application for a wide range of streaming devices. That includes smart TVs too.
On a Roku, go to the Channel Store and download the Apple software. On an Amazon Fire TV, installation can start with saying, “Alexa, find the Apple TV app.” You might need to create a free account, also called an Apple ID, if you don’t have one already
Consider a 3-month Apple TV+ subscription
You can enjoy the Halloween special with a single month of Apple TV+, which costs $4.99. But Peanuts fans might want to stick with the service a bit longer.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is also an Apple TV+ exclusive. And so is A Charlie Brown Christmas. You’ll need a subscription to watch these, too. And you might want to try Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, a fresh New Year’s eve special created by Apple.
While you have the subscription, don’t miss The Snoopy Show starring the irrepressible beagle — a series that has a 100% critics approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.