ABC/Nicole Wilder(NEW YORK) — Good grief! A Charlie Brown Christmas is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and ABC is honoring the milestone with a special on Monday night.
It’s Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown, hosted by Kristen Bell and airing at 8 p.m. Eastern time, will reflect on the classic holiday program and feature performances by Sarah McLachlan, Boyz II Men, Pentatonix, Kristen Chenoweth and more.
It will be followed by an airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
Craig Schulz, the son of late Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, explains why the 1965 classic — which finds Charlie Brown searching for the true meaning of Christmas — resonates with viewers to this day.
“[W]e’re all there when Charlie Brown loses, we all lose a lot more in life than we ever win,” he says. “So I think we can all relate to them and I think we all have a lot of Charlie Brown in us. I know I do.”
Lee Mendelson, who produced A Charlie Brown Christmas, tells ABC Radio that Charles Schulz believed his special would endure. “Charles Schulz said one time, There’ll always be a market for innocence in this country,” Mendelson recalls.
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