Marcie Takes the Lead in Apple’s Heartwarming ‘Snoopy Presents’ Apple TV+ Original

Over the past few years, Apple has breathed new life into the beloved Charles M. Schulz Peanuts franchise, marking the return of original shows featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang. Now it’s preparing to air its fifth original special this month: Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie.

It’s the first of two new specials the company announced earlier this year that will focus on some of the rarely featured “supporting cast” members of the Peanuts gang. In this case, Peppermint Patty’s long-time sidekick, Marcie, will take center stage, showing the trials and tribulations of a thoughtful and caring introvert who is suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Marcie may not have been an original part of Charles M. Schulz’s roster — she was introduced to the comic strip on July 20, 1971 — but she’s been a staple character for as long as most fans can remember. A somewhat bookish and introspective character, Marcie was cast as Peppermint Patty’s “dorky kid” sidekick and became the voice of reason that often kept her more high-spirited friend grounded.

Marcie is one-up on Peppermint Patty in every way. She sees the truth of things, where it invariably escapes Patty. I like Marcie.Charles M. Schulz

Despite her supporting role, Marcie has become a favorite over the years and arguably has a backstory as well-developed as any of the main cast. Many fans would argue that a Peanuts special that shows us more about Marcie is long overdue, and Apple clearly agrees.

Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie, will show how much the “lovable introvert” is actually an unsung hero, working quietly and humbly behind the scenes to help her friends and her community. However, in this case, circumstances pull her out of the shadows she’s normally content to hide in when she finds herself unexpectedly elected as class president.

Apple has released an official trailer for the new special, which will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 18. It marks the fifth Apple Peanuts original, following Snoopy Presents: Lucy’s School, released around the same time last year.

Apple’s involvement with the Peanuts franchise began with a landmark deal in 2018 to secure limited rights to create educational specials like Snoopy in Space. However, that may have just been a trial run to see how Apple would handle things before brokering a much larger deal to make Apple TV+ the home for “all things Peanuts” — a deal that made Apple the exclusive home of classic Peanuts holiday specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas.

While Apple originally planned to run those solely on Apple TV+, albeit for free during the appropriate holiday seasons, the public hue and cry resulted in the company brokering a deal with PBS to ensure the venerable Charlie Brown holiday shows remained more widely available.

However, Apple has much bigger plans in mind, bringing Snoopy and the gang back for their first holiday special in nearly 20 years with For Auld Lang Syne, another heartwarming production that cast new light on the character of Lucy.

This was also technically the first Peanuts special ever that didn’t have Charlie Brown or Snoopy in the title, although Apple later added a “Snoopy Presents” tagline. This allows it to maintain the “Snoopy” brand while getting away from the “Charlie Brown” suffix that was the norm for nearly 40 years.

This first special was followed up by It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown, an Earth Day special that similarly highlighted Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally, and then To Mom (And Dad) With Love , which focuses more on Peppermint Patty.

In addition to One-of-a-Kind Marcie, Apple has also announced a sixth upcoming special, Welcome Home, Franklin, which will tell the origin story of another well-known background character.

In 1968, Charles M. Schulz made history and stirred up some controversy when he added Franklin Armstrong as the first African-American in the Peanuts comic strip — and pulled no punches in doing so. For instance, his decision to show Franklin and Peppermint Patty sitting together in school in an era when segregation was still sadly all too common offended some readers and led to some newspapers threatening to pull the comic strip.

Welcome Home, Franklin will premiere sometime in 2024 along with a new original Peanuts series, Camp Snoopy. This fall, Charles M. Schulz’s beloved beagle will also be gracing the face of the Apple Watch.

In addition to the new original Peanuts specials, Apple TV+ offers a collection of the classic shows from yesteryear, including the greats like the venerable 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown along with It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974), Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975), It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (1976), Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986), and 1992’s It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown. Some of these stand on their own, while others can be found in The Peanuts Classics collection alongside other selected Peanuts specials such as 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), Snoopy’s Reunion (1991), He’s a Bully, Charlie Brown (2006).