ABC TELEVISION NETWORK CELEBRATES HOLIDAY TRADITIONS WITH THE ANIMATED CLASSIC, "A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS," TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8

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 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET/PT; OAD on ABC: 12/6/01). In the digitally-remastered 1965 special, 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.

Note: This program was originally scheduled for Dec. 1, but was preempted by the Presidential address. It now moves to Dec. 8 and replaces (with "Disney Prep & Landing") the hour-long version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Starring an unlikely round-headed hero and a unique cast of young characters wiser and wittier than their years, Charles Schulz's PEANUTS is not just the best-known, most-loved comic strip ever created, but a true global phenomenon. The PEANUTS characters are featured in 2200 newspapers, in classic television specials and on re-mastered DVDs, on stage, in hundreds of books and across the Internet. They have inspired every kind of consumer product from T-shirts to toothbrushes. And while translated into 25 languages, PEANUTS has introduced a vocabulary all its own: "Good grief!," "security blanket," "Happiness is...," "You blockhead!" As PEANUTS approaches its 60th anniversary in 2010, "Good ol' Charlie Brown" and his inseparable gang remain as fresh and vital as ever.

Over the past four decades, the library of PEANUTS animation has received five Emmy and two Peabody Awards. It has also received one Academy Award nomination, three Grammy nominations and fifteen additional Emmy nominations.

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.