Why ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ almost didn’t air — and why it endures
CNN
Charles Schulz’s TV special survived the skepticism of network executives to become a holiday classic.
It’s hard to imagine a holiday season without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple — etched into traditions across generations like decorating the tree or sipping hot cocoa. But this beloved TV special almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slow, too serious and too different from the upbeat spectacles they imagined audiences wanted. A cartoon about a depressed kid seeking psychiatric advice? No laugh track? Humble, lo-fi animation? And was that a Bible verse? It seemed destined to fail — if not scrapped outright. And yet, against all the odds, it became a classic. The program turned “Peanuts” from a popular comic strip into a multimedia empire — not because it was flashy or followed the rules, but because it was sincere. As a business professor who has studied the “Peanuts” franchise, I see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as a fascinating historical moment. It’s the true story of an unassuming comic strip character who crossed over into television and managed to voice hefty, thought-provoking ideas — without getting booted off the air. The “Peanuts” special came together out of a last-minute scramble. Somewhat out of the blue, producer Lee Mendelson got a call from advertising agency McCann-Erickson: Coca-Cola wanted to sponsor an animated Christmas special. Mendelson had previously failed to convince the agency to sponsor a “Peanuts” documentary. This time, though, he assured McCann-Erickson that the characters would be a perfect fit.
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