Charlie Brown and Peanuts gang back with TV special

Charlie Brown is not known for his successes. One of American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's most memorable creations, Charlie is the ultimate clueless kid, never able to kick a football, ace a test or approach his crush.

- Laurel Graeber

NEW YORK - Charlie Brown is not known for his successes. One of American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's most memorable creations, Charlie is the ultimate clueless kid, never able to kick a football, ace a test or approach his crush.

But in Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, a new Peanuts animated special, Charlie scores a major triumph. Thinking not so much of himself but of his little sister Sally and of future generations, he devises a plan to save a beloved institution: the Peanuts gang's summer camp.

The desire to preserve a cherished institution also inspired the creative team behind the production, the first new Peanuts television musical in more than 35 years. The last was Snoopy! The Musical from 1988.

With this special, which is available on Apple TV+, the writers aim both to celebrate the legacy of Schulz, who died in 2000, and to take the indelible Peanuts crew in a slightly different direction. The year 2025 is the 75th anniversary of the comic strip.

"The thought jumped in my mind - wouldn't it be exciting to see the characters, you know, actually sing and dance?" Craig Schulz said in a joint video interview with Bryan Schulz and Cornelius Uliano, his screenplay collaborators and fellow executive producers. Craig is Charles Schulz's son and Bryan is the cartoonist's grandson.