It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is always a great watch as part of the Halloween TV viewing season, whether you're a kid or an adult who fondly remembers the classic Peanuts animated short airing on local TV every year. While the holiday special no longer airs on TV in the US and instead is exclusively available on Apple TV Plus, the streamer is giving everyone the chance to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for free this year.
From Saturday, October 21 to Sunday, October 22, you do not need to be an Apple TV Plus subscriber to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on the streaming service, as a special free window is going to be available for non-subscribers. Of course, if you are already an Apple TV Plus subscriber, you can watch the Peanuts short whenever you like at no additional cost.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was created in 1966, written by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. The story sees Charlie Brown prep for a Halloween party, Snoopy set his sights on the Red Baron and Linus patiently wait for the arrival of the legendary Great Pumpkin. The voice cast for the short includes Peter Robbins as Charlie Brown, Christopher Shea as Linus, Sally Dryer as Lucy and Cathy Steinberg as Sally.
For years, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown aired on ABC for families to enjoy. In 2020, it was announced that it and the other Charlie Brown holiday specials (A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas) would stop airing on TV and only be available on the streaming service. However, they have consistently offered these types of limited free windows for viewers to watch the shorts even if they are not Apple TV Plus subscribers.
If you want to set your calendar ahead of time for the other Charlie Brown holiday specials, Apple TV Plus is going to make A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving available for free from November 18-19, while A Charlie Brown Christmas will be free from December 16-17.
Apple TV Plus, which now has the rights to create new Peanuts content, has developed a few new holiday specials with Charlie Brown and the gang. This includes a Christmas special episode of The Snoopy Show premiering on December 1 and Snoopy Presents For Auld Lang Syne, a New Year's special featuring the Peanuts gang. (For old-school Peanuts fans, 1985's Happy New Year, Charlie Brown is also available to stream on Apple TV Plus.)
If you miss the window to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for free or any of the other holiday specials, you will need to sign up for Apple TV Plus to watch them. However, if you’re a first-time subscriber, you can get an Apple TV Plus free trial.
