Remember 2020? What a dumpster fire of a year that was. It seemed like every day brought a new kick to the gut. Kick after kick after kick had us seeking anything that would bring us some sense of comfort and normalcy. For most of us, that comfort was anything that was as close to our pre-pandemic routine as possible. Since nearly all annual community events and concerts were canceled, and we were all spending way more time at home than we were used to, that meant turning to the television for our favorite shows and, during the final few months of the year, holiday specials. But even then, 2020 couldn't help but give us one more swift kick while we were down, begging it to show mercy. As the Halloween season crept closer, and families counted down the days until they could sit around the TV and watch, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, 2020 had one more trick to pull. Like Lucy pulling the football away just as Charlie Brown goes to kick it, it was announced that you'd only be able to watch the beloved Halloween special if you were an Apple TV+ subscriber.

But 2020 is over, and while 2021 has given us its fair share of ups and downs, one piece of good news is that we'll all be able to gather around the TV to watch It's the Great Pumpkin once again. No Apple TV+ subscription is required.

Variety reports that Apple, who owns the rights to the Peanuts catalog, is giving PBS permission to run the special over its network as well as PBS Kids on Saturday, October 24th at 7:30 PM Eastern / 6:30 PM Central.

This won't be the first time Apple has given PBS the ability to run one of the Peanuts specials. After last year's announcement, the viewing public went bonkers (not in a good way), and raised such a stink, Apple allowed PBS to run the remaining holiday specials last year. Halloween had already come and gone by the time that decision was made, meaning the October 24th airing will mark the special's triumphant return to broadcast television. For the Tri-State, that means we'll be able to watch on WNIN (Channel 9).

Welcome back, Charlie Brown! (That sounds like it could be the title of a new special. Hmmmm.)

[Source: Variety]

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