1966: CBS Premiered 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'
October 27, 2020
| By TV WW
On this day in 1966, CBS preempted the sitcom My Three Sons to debut what has become a seasonal classic, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The animated special, featuring Charles Shultz's popular comic strip characters, revolves around Linus van Pelt's belief that the "Great Pumpkin" will appear in the pumpkin patch on Halloween night.
CBS aired the special through 2000. Since 2001, it has been presented by ABC. (Sharp-eyed viewers, however, have noticed that segments of the show have been shaved to make room for ads when the special is broadcast in a half-hour timeslot and not coupled with a second animated Peanuts special. For those who don't want to miss a second of the original show, we recommend purchasing it on Instant video, DVD or Blu-Ray.)