November 11, 2002

ABC Television Network

PRESS RELEASE - ENTERTAINMENT - A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (12/8)

ABC TELEVISION NETWORK CELEBRATES HOLIDAY TRADITIONS WITH THE SECOND AIRING OF THE ANIMATED CLASSIC, "A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS," SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 ON ABC

A New PEANUTS Special, "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales," Based on the Works of Charles Schulz, to Debut with the Emmy-Winning Classic

The ABC Television Network will celebrate the joy of the holidays with the classic animated Christmas-themed PEANUTS special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, airing on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT; OAD on ABC: 12/6/01). The hour will also include a series of never-before-seen Christmas-themed animated stories entitled "Charlie Brown Christmas Tales," based on Schulz's work, in which each of the beloved PEANUTS characters - Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and Sally - will star in his or her own charming animated vignette.

Last season's new Charlie Brown behind-the-scenes special, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, was nominated for a 2001-02 Emmy Award. The one-hour special, including the mini-documentary, gave the Network its best-ever Adults 18-49 delivery (3.6/10) in the time period opposite original episodes of "Friends" and "Survivor." "A Charlie Brown Christmas" improved ABC's time period performance by 38% among Adults 18-49 and added an additional 72% Total Viewers to the time period, attracting 11.2 million.

PEANUTS focuses on the anxieties and joys of childhood as expressed by an ensemble cast of children who often seem wise beyond their years. Among them are the lovable Charlie Brown, who perseveres despite continuous failure; the philosophical, blanket-carrying Linus; the fussbudget Lucy, who dispenses psychological advice for a nickel from behind a concession stand; and toy-piano virtuoso Schroeder. Central to the comic strip is Charlie Brown's dog, Snoopy, who first stood on his hind legs in 1958 and became extremely popular for his imaginative adventures as a number of characters.

In the digitally-remastered 1965 special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees everywhere during the Christmas season. Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant, and Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, Charlie Brown needs Linus' help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is.

The cast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" includes Peter Robbins ("Charlie Brown"), Christopher Shea as ("Linus"), Tracy Stratford ("Lucy"), Chris Doran ("Schroeder") and Sally Dryer ("Violet").

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was executive-produced by Lee Mendelson and created and written by Charles M. Schulz. Bill Melendez is the producer and director, and Vince Guaraldi is the music composer.

This program carries a TV-G parental guideline.