New Peanuts Special Highlights Black Character Franklin

Franklin Armstrong is having his story rewritten in a special episode of the Apple TV+ Snoopy Presents series entitled Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin. Prepare for your heart to absolutely melt! 

If you are unfamiliar with the character’s origin story, Franklin first debuted on television in 1973 on A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. And his appearance? Less than stellar. The show was heavily criticized for having the only Black character seated at the dinner table opposite everyone else, in a beach chair. 

But the Armstrong family has been given a second chance with Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home Franklin, produced by creator Charles M. Schulz’s son Craig Schulz, grandson Bryan Schulz, and filmmaker Cornelius Uliano, and co-written by cartoonist Robb Armstrong, for whom Franklin is named after.

All About ‘Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin’

With a dad in the military, Franklin’s family has moved around a lot. Everywhere that he moves, he finds comfort and advice on friendship from a notebook that his grandfather left him.

When the Armstrong family moves into the same town as the Peanuts gang, Franklin tries to make friends using his grandfather’s advice but realizes his old tactics aren’t going to work.

He then signs up for the town’s Soapbox Derby and finds friendship in his new co-racer, Charlie Brown, while they build their box car and prepare for race day. The episode is a story of friendship, self-worth, and being your very best self. 

Below, Parents has an exclusive sneak peek of Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, which is available to stream on Apple TV+ starting February 16.

The Importance of Rewriting Franklin’s Story

The new episode is beautifully done and tells Franklin’s story in a way that Peanuts’ lovers, both new and old, are sure to appreciate. But it took careful work.

“The original series’ intent was to explore all the characters one by one, and let the fans get to know them better,” Craig Schulz tells Parents. “Franklin was probably the scariest one to do.”

Schulz adds they purposely put it as the last show in season two because they knew “it was going to take a lot of time to do this one right.”

The show displays the innocence of childhood as Franklin and Charlie Brown bond over interests, including music, sports, and racing. Franklin also introduces Charlie Brown to new things, such as The Negro Leagues and John Coltrane, and jokes about his possible relation to James Brown.

And while this special does its due diligence in correcting the way that Franklin was introduced in the past, it also doesn’t shy away from highlighting the differences between him and the rest of the Peanuts gang in a way that could open up dialogue for children and parents.

“This script and these specials don’t talk down to their audience—they speak honestly and authentically and invite the audience to keep up,” director Raymond S. Persi says.

The characters’ humor also helps make the series what it is. “As a kid, the first time you’re watching it, you may just be enjoying that the characters are really funny, and then as you get older and you watch it again and again, you start to understand more of the depth behind the jokes,” says Persi. “I think that that’s how these things can appeal to all ages.”

Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin shows a new side to all of our beloved Peanuts characters while also paying homage to the classic stories we know and love. And while Franklin’s introduction into the Peanuts universe will never be overlooked, this special honors the Armstrong family in such a deserving way. It also comes at a very important time.

“The times that we live in are very tense racially—just like the times when Franklin was originally created,” points out Robb Armstrong. “Franklin came into the world in 1968 when the world was uncertain, violent, and hostile racially, and all that stuff unfortunately is back. Franklin came to the rescue then, and he’s about to come to the rescue again. We have to get this right. We cannot hurt or hate one another. Franklin shows us we have options.”