Three cheers for Charlie Brown’s return

A view of the Ottauquechee River in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

A shout of jubilation was heard around the world when Apple released news of a deal with PBS and PBS Kids that would bring the Peanuts holiday specials back to national television this year.

After four days of anticipation, families across the country got the thrill of seeing "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" on Sunday night on PBS. It's the same plan for "A Charlie Brown Christmas", which airs Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS.

Announced last week, the Apple-PBS deal came after a thunderous outcry after Apple acquired the rights to Peanuts content, and therefore, the beloved Charlie Brown specials would only be available on Apple TV+ from here on out. That didn't sit well with Peanuts fans, hundreds of thousands of whom signed online petitions to get the specials back on television, in a year when families could really use some good cheer.

That kind of joy from nationwide holiday favorites is more important than ever, in the middle of a pandemic in which a number of states have gathering limits imposed for the holidays. Furthermore, many traditions throughout the year have been changed or cancelled entirely, due to COVID-19. For all those reasons, it's no surprise people really wanted the multi-generational favorites from the Peanuts gang to remain before a national TV audience, where they have always been accessible to millions of fans.

Now, we can say the Charlie Brown tradition was brought back for November and December in 2020, and was made widely available for all people to see. It's probably the closest thing to a great, big national hug we're going to get this year. And we'll take it.

— Gareth Henderson

To be fair, we should note, as Apple previously announced: "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" is free to watch on Apple TV+ from Nov. 25-27; the Christmas special is free on Apple TV+ from Dec. 11-13.