Charlie Brown cartoons – new and old – will have a fresh life during the holidays.
The new is “For Auld Lang Syne,” which starts streaming Dec. 10 on Apple TV+. After a disappointing Christmas, Lucy vows to throw herself the best New Year’s Eve party ever.
And the old are classics — led by “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (shown here), one of the all-time greats — that will air on PBS and PBS Kids (each at 7:30 p.m.) and on Apple. They are:
– “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” Oct. 24;
– “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” Nov. 21; and
– “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Dec. 19.
The Christmas cartoon debuted in 1965, with “Great Pumpkin” a year later. The Thanksgiving one was in 1973.
After the death of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz in 2000, producers set a deal for old and new specials on ABC. A year ago, that moved to Apple – bringing complaints that Charlie would be out-of-reach for most families. In the aftermath, the deal was set with PBS.
Currently, Apple has “The Snoopy Show,” plus a series of 12 “Snoopy in Space” shorts. It also has a movie-length documentary about Schulz and his creation: “Who Are You, Charlie Brown?”