When Does the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special Air?

Thanksgiving Day may not be until Thursday, but those looking to celebrate the holiday a little early can do so with Charlie Brown and the gang tonight.

ABC will air A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tonight, Wednesday Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The animated special will be immediately followed by a bonus Peanuts cartoon, This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers.

Based on characters from the popular Peanuts comic strip created by Charles M. Shulz, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving originally aired on November 20, 1973 on CBS and aired every year on the network until 2000. In 2001, the special moved along with the rest of the Peanuts specials — such as It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for Halloween and A Charlie Brown Christmas in December — to ABC where it has aired ever since. Since 2008, it has aired in conjunction with an abridged version of This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers — which is actually the first episode to the 1988 miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown — to round out the hour programming block.

In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown wants to do something special for the gang. However, the dinner he arranges is a disaster when the caterers, Snoopy and Woodstock, prepare toast and popcorn as the main dish. Humiliated, it will take all of Marcie’s persuasive powers to salvage the holiday for Charlie Brown.

In This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers the year is 1620. After 65 grueling, sea-tossed days, the Pilgrims are in view of America’s shores – and Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew are with them as they experience firsthand the lifestyle of the early settlers and celebrate the first Thanksgiving.

Will you be tuning in for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tonight? Let us know in the comments below!