With Thanksgiving almost here, it’s time to watch the beloved Peanuts holiday special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Apple TV+ subscribers can watch it anytime, but the special is also free for anyone to stream. And you don’t need an Apple device to do so
Here’s how and when you can watch Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty and Marcie act out The Courtship of Miles Standish.
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A streaming exclusive… but free to watch
Apple TV+ owns the rights to all Peanuts holiday specials. But it made a deal with PBS to broadcast the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas installments in 2021. 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.”
But A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is open to all via the Apple TV+ streaming service starting November 23 and going through November 27. There’s no paywall on those dates.
And later in the year will come free access to A Charlie Brown Christmas.
How to watch the Peanuts Thanksgiving special for free
Apple users play the holiday classic 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 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (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 A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 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.
Buy A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on DVD
Those who want anytime access to the Peanuts Thanksgiving special and don’t want to subscribe to Apple TV+ can buy the DVD. It’s available for under $12.
Buy from: Amazon
More Peanuts specials are on the way
The Peanuts Thanksgiving special isn’t the only one that Apple will make available for anyone to watch for free. A Charlie Brown Christmas. will be available free from December 22 through December 25.
While the classics can be watched free, Peanuts fans might want a subscription to Apple TV+. The service offers Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, a fresh New Year’s eve special created by Apple. And there’s also The Snoopy Show starring the irrepressible beagle — a series that has a 100% critics approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Apple TV+ is $4.99 a month, and includes a wide variety of other children’s’ programs, too.
