Celebrate the 60th anniversary of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ - here’s where to watch it

(Gray News) – “A Charlie Brown Christmas” turns 60 years old on Tuesday.

The classic 25-minute animated special debuted on television Dec. 9, 1965.

It first appeared on CBS and is based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz.

The show was the first of more than 45 animated Charlie Brown television specials.

The plot revolves around Charlie Brown feeling depressed during the start of the holiday season. He then tries to direct a neighborhood play with his friends, but he is laughed at for choosing a tiny Christmas tree as a centerpiece.

Since its debut 60 years ago, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” has been a holiday staple in American households.

Although the “Peanuts” comic strip was incredibly popular at the time, network executives were convinced “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was going to flop, according to History.com.

The special was unlike anything seen on television before.

It hired actual kids as voice actors, featured a spare jazz soundtrack and did not include a laugh track, which was a staple at the time. Network executives were reportedly disappointed with the special during a test screening that was held a week before its air date.

But on the night of its premiere, nearly half of American households tuned in to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” according to the Los Angeles Public Library.

The Smithsonian reports that Schulz himself was surprised by its instant and longstanding success.

“The continued success of the special has surprised me as much as anyone,” Charles Schulz told TV Guide in 1985. “A lot of the drawings are terrible.”

The special is even considered responsible for single-handedly eliminating the aluminum Christmas tree industry, which was dominant in American households at the time.

“Compassion for Charlie Brown’s scrawny sprig rerouted an entire generation away from metallic pink space-age conifers, straight back to natural pine and fir,” according to the Los Angeles Public Library.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” ran annually on CBS for 35 years.

While no longer on network television, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is available on Apple TV+. It will be available to stream for free for people without a subscription on the weekend of Dec. 13-14. Outside of those days, it will still be available to users with an Apple TV+ subscription.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, is also hosting a 60^th anniversary celebration on Dec. 20 featuring original chorus and cast members.