A Halloween Classic ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ Is Climbing Apple TV+ Charts Again

Streaming top 10 charts typically favor the loud and new. Currently, Apple TV+’s movies chart features a mix of such titles, including recent theatrical releases and popular rentals that people are buying outright rather than exploring older catalog options. Titles like ‘Mayday,’ ‘Troy,’ and ‘F1’ dominate the top spots, showcasing the newer or higher-profile fare that often overshadows smaller, older titles.

This makes it particularly noteworthy when a title without a marketing campaign, theatrical run, or even a runtime exceeding half an hour manages to break back into the conversation. This phenomenon occurs almost every year around this time, subtly enough that casual chart-watchers often miss it until the title is already climbing the ranks.

This week, that title is ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.’ The beloved animated special has jumped two spots to claim the number 7 position on Apple TV+’s top 10 movies list, nestled between newer titles like ‘I, Robot’ and ‘Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.’ For a 25-minute cartoon without any new marketing push, this chart position is quite remarkable.

The special has a rich history that predates streaming entirely. It first aired on CBS in 1966 and later moved to ABC, where it became a Halloween staple for decades before transitioning to Apple TV+ in 2020. This migration from network television was significant for longtime fans who grew up watching it annually.

Apple secured the rights to all Peanuts specials in 2018, making them exclusive to Apple TV+. Although PBS briefly aired some specials afterward, that partnership eventually ended, leaving Apple TV+ as the sole platform for watching Linus wait in the pumpkin patch. For many who grew up tuning into a specific channel every October, this shift felt like a cultural earthquake.

Apple has somewhat mitigated this transition by preserving a piece of the old tradition. The company continues to offer a limited free-viewing window each year, allowing non-subscribers to watch without paying for Apple TV+. This is available through the TV app, connected smart TVs, Apple TV devices, and the web. Subscribers can also stream the special at any time, which likely contributes to its resurgence on the chart well ahead of Halloween.

There’s a nice symmetry to this resurgence. A special that first aired in 1966 is approaching its 60th anniversary in 2026, still attracting new viewers on a platform that didn’t exist for most of its history. This serves as a reminder that streaming charts reflect not only what is new but also what people are drawn to revisit.

The rest of Apple TV+’s current top 10 offers insights into audience preferences in late September, featuring awards-adjacent dramas like ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ comfort comedies like ‘Superbad,’ and recent releases like ‘The Dink’ and ‘The Gorge’ all vying for attention. However, it’s the oldest, shortest title on the list that stands out, quietly climbing rather than falling, proving that some Halloween traditions don’t require a massive marketing effort to reconnect with their audience.