It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: When will it air?
When will the classic Peanuts special “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” air in 2019?
While not the first Peanuts special to air on TV, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a classic of Halloween TV content.
Dog O’Day learned of the this year’s airdates from a somewhat unusual source: the food site Delish.
It will air twice in 2019, both times on ABC. First, it will be shown on Tuesday, October 22, and then it will be repeated on Sunday, October 27, at 7 p.m. ET. This second showing will be followed by the election-themed special You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (the 10th special, from 1972).
Based on the comic strip by Charles Schulz, the main plot of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown follows Linus Van Pelt on his quest to convince everyone else in the neighborhood that the Great Pumpkin, a Santa Claus of Halloween, actually exists.
The main subplot follows Charlie Brown’s misadventures at Violet’s Halloween party.
Familiar scenes including Linus’ older sister Lucy yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, imaginative Beagle Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace fighting the Red Baron in his Sopwith Camel biplane, Schroeder playing the piano, and Snoopy kissing Lucy (much to her disgust) are also included.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted on October 27, 1966, on CBS as the third Peanuts special (A Charlie Brown Christmas was the first in 1965).
Next. Snoopy's Town Tale is relaunching. dark
The timing of this special, besides being a treasured holiday tradition, feels especially appropriate given that the upcoming TV series Snoopy in Space releases with the launch of Apple TV Plus on Friday, November 1.
In the meantime, we here at the Dog O’Day staff recommend going to your local library or bookstore to find Peanuts collections or the extensive 2007 work Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis.