One of our favorite Halloween traditions is centered around watching “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” It’s the most crucial show of the season and it does not feel right until we have.

Anyone who calls it anything less than a Halloween classic is deluding themselves. They are not to be trusted, sorry to say. We say all of that to say this: where can we watch it this year?

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

It’s a valid question and it is one that needs to be answered as soon as possible. After all, Halloween is right around the corner. We cannot risk missing out on this yearly event.

“On Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises from his pumpkin patch and flies through the air with his bag of toys for all the children,” Linus says in the episode. We need to hear those words every year or Halloween is not the same.

Families have been spending their Halloweens gathered around the television for half a century now. It may seem like an exaggeration but this special is really that old! We feel positively ancient but that’s just part of life, we suppose. How can we watch Linus fall asleep in the pumpkin patch this year, though?

Photo: flickr/puuikibeach

As it turns out, it won’t be as easy as turning on your television set and turning to your trusted channels. The rights have been sold to Apple+ TV and the company is not allowing the show to air on PBS anymore. They have also acquired the rights to “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” in case you are curious.

According to PBS, the rights were sold off back in 2020. At first, they caved to the backlash from the folks who are not into the streaming world. PBS aired the specials in 2020 and 2021 after Apple received backlash. In 2022, all of that is about to change.

“Regretfully, PBS does not have the rights to distribute the Peanuts specials this year,” @PBSKIDS recently stated on Twitter. “We’ll all have to watch for the Great Pumpkin in a different pumpkin patch this Halloween.”

In order to watch this year, you must have a subscription to Apple+ TV. If you want to duck the costs, you can utilize the seven-day free trial. From there, the service costs $4.99 per month.
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