Growing up, I was a huge fan of “Peanuts”. “It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” was not an annual viewing; it was weekly for me. So, you can imagine how excited I am for this one.

You may or may not be familiar with Charlie Brown’s friend Franklin.  Up until now, there hasn’t been much of a backstory to his character. But now there’s a new special now streaming on Apple TV+ called, “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin”.  It’s about how Franklin joined the group.

In case you didn’t know, Franklin was the first black “Peanuts” character.  Charles Shulz drew him in 1968 following a suggestion from a white female schoolteacher in Los Angeles.

She wrote him a letter asking for representation for black kids following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.  So, Charles took her suggestion and created a comic strip where Franklin meets Charlie at the beach.

Franklin later made his animated debut in 1973 in “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”.

Check out the trailer …