Apple Announces Its Third ‘Peanuts’ Special ‘To Mom (And Dad) With Love’

Last year, Apple debuted the first new Peanuts holiday special in nearly two decades, and it looks like that was just the first step in opening the floodgates for a regular stream of new Charlie Brown specials.

Earlier this month, Apple premiered It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown to celebrate Earth Day, and now only a couple of weeks later, it’s announcing yet another one in the queue for Mother’s Day.

Apple has announced that a new original Peanuts special, To Mom (And Dad), With Love, is set to appear on Apple TV+ on Friday, May 6, to kick off Mother’s Day weekend.

The new special is described as “a sweet Mother’s Day celebration of friendship and family,” intended to honor not only moms but also dads and other parental figures. As Peppermint Patty finds herself despondent from not growing up with a mom, her sidekick Marcie helps to remind her that “real families come in all shapes and sizes.”

Meanwhile, Snoopy and his avian sidekick go on their own adventure as the duo set out to locate Woodstock’s long-lost mom.

Apple also released an official trailer on YouTube to provide a sneak peek at what we can expect from the Peanuts gang in Apple’s latest heartwarming animated special.

The title of this latest special is notably another departure from the classic Peanuts era. Like December’s For Auld Lang Syne, there’s no mention of Charlie Brown or Snoopy in the main title. Instead, Apple is prefixing it with “Snoopy presents.”

Considering that Charlie Brown and Snoopy have tackled everything from Christmas to Arbor Day, it’s surprising that To Mom (And Dad), With Love marks the first time in the 40+ Peanuts specials aired since 1965 that Mother’s Day has been the theme of one.

As much as Apple seemingly prefers to avoid offering a library of older content, its acquisition of Charles M. Schultz’s legacy has slowly made Apple TV+ the home for all things Peanuts — both new and old.

In 2020, Apple brought the three most famous Charlie Brown specials to Apple TV+: the venerable 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas along with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Since then, it’s expanded that collection to include It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974), Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975), Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986), It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992). This month it also added the 1976 special It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, alongside the new Earth Day special.

While the holiday specials stand on their own, Apple TV+ has also added The Peanuts Classics to round up another historical collection of Charlie Brown specials, including Charlie Brown’s All Stars! (1966), You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972), She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown (1980), It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown (1984), and Snoopy’s Reunion (1991).

It’s less than half of the complete collection of Peanuts specials. Still, we suspect Apple plans to slowly release the others at appropriate times, ultimately giving Apple TV+ subscribers access to a significant back catalog of library content from the golden years of television animation.