The lovable Peanuts gang will stay on ABC for another seven years through 2020.
According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC signed an extension with Peanuts Worldwide LLC and Lee Mendelson Film Productions allowing for the network to create the much-loved Emmy-winning specials like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz, began airing on ABC in 2001. The first A Charlie Brown Christmas aired in 1965 and will have its 50th anniversary in the coming year. Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez animated the Peanuts gang. Schulz, Mendelson and Melendez worked together since 1965 when the first A Charlie Brown Christmas came to life and continued their work until Schulz’s death in 2000. Together they worked on 50 Peanuts network specials and 4 feature films. ABC has won five Emmy’s, 2 Peabody’s and 18 other Emmy nominations for the specials.