Apple to Premiere the First New Peanuts Musical in 35 Years
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Since picking up the rights to it for Apple TV+ nearly five years ago, Apple has revitalized the Peanuts franchise. From its start with STEM content like Snoopy in Space to more character-focused holiday specials, Apple has breathed new life into Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang.
Now, it’s taking another big step with the first Peanuts musical in 35 years. Today, the company announced Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, which will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on July 18, 2025.
The tradition of Peanutsmusicals began in 1967 with the venerable You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, a live stage musical that was later adapted into a TV special in 1985. This was followed by 1975’s Snoopy: The Musical, which was similarly adapted for TV in 1988.
Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical, rather appropriately lands on the 75th anniversary of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Peanuts gang, will follow in that tradition. However, this one will be coming directly to an animated feature rather than being presented as live theatre (for now, at least). Apple’s new 40-minute musical will feature an original score by Emmy Award-nominated composer Jeff Morrow and Emmy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, composer, and New York Times bestselling author Ben Folds.
The new special follows Charlie Brown as he spends another year at his beloved summer camp, joined by his little sister, Sally, who is there for the first time. Meanwhile, Snoopy and Woodstock find a map that sends them off in pursuit of hidden treasure.
When the Peanuts gang discovers that the camp is shutting down due to a lack of interest, they fight to save it by hosting a concert.
Following over a decade of silence from Charlie Brown and Snoopy, broken only by 2015’s The Peanuts Movie, Apple signed a STEM-focused deal to produce Snoopy in Space as one of the first animated shows to launch with its new Apple TV+ service in 2019. It expanded that deal in 2020 to make Apple TV+ the home for “all things Peanuts” — and it’s taken its new stewardship of the franchise very seriously.
Apple kicked things off in 2021 with the first Charlie Brown holiday special produced in over twenty years, but it did so with a twist. In a more character-driven story, Auld Lang Syne focused on Lucy’s struggles to host the perfect New Year’s Eve party. That heartwarming look into the beloved characters continued with Earth Day’s It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown featuring Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally.
The trend continued with To Mom (And Dad) With Love, featuring Peppermint Patty, and One of a Kind Marcie, revealing the trials and tribulations of the gang’s most thoughtful and caring introvert.
These deeper dives into what were essentially supporting cast members took on another facet with Welcome Home, Franklin, which featured an origin story for the history-making first African-American to be featured in the Peanuts comic strip — a relatively bold move made by Charles M. Schulz, who introduced the Black character in the middle of the civil rights movement of 1968 and refused to back down when met with opposition by newspapers who threatened to drop his comic strip over it.
Apple is also working on a feature-length film that will see the Peanuts gang take an epic adventure to the Big City, marking the second time the gang has come to the big screen and the first major Charlie Brown project since Apple took the reigns (sadly, The Peanuts Movie is the one entry that can’t be found on Apple TV+, due to rights issues, although it can be purchased from iTunes).
Apple’s original Peanuts content on Apple TV+ has earned 27 award nominations and four wins since it first debuted in 2020. While the original feature film still isn’t part of the collection, Apple has nearly every other historic Peanuts special available in the Apple TV+ catalog, including the iconic specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
