By India McCarty
Christmas is right around the corner, which means it’s time for our favorite holiday classics, including Dr. Seuss’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!
“NBC will air HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS on December 4, 2025, at 8/7c, with an encore on December 25 at 8/7c,” Closer Magazine reported. “The special originally premiered on CBS in December 1966 before eventually finding a new home on NBC, where it has become a long-running holiday tradition.”
If you miss NBC’s air dates, never fear — HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS will air on TNT on Dec. 20 at 12 p.m./11c, and on TBS on Dec. 13 at 4/3c, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m./9c and 10:30 p.m./9:30c, and Dec. 21 at 7:30/6:30c and 10:30/9:30c.
The special will also air on Freeform throughout the month of December.
Related: DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
1966’s HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS is a beloved Christmas classic, but did you know that the character of the Grinch was actually based on the book’s author, Dr. Seuss?
In a 1957 interview, he explained, “I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 26th of last December when I noted a very Grinchish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss! Something had gone wrong with Christmas, I realized, or more likely with me. So I wrote the story about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I’d lost.”
The book would go on to be massively successful, inspiring the 1966 special, which was the most expensive animated movie of its time.
“CBS poured a whopping $315,000 into HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, which would amount to more than $2.8 million today,” Remind Magazine reported.
However, Suess was originally reluctant to allow the network to adapt his book. It wasn’t until his former Army friend and LOONEY TUNES illustrator Chuck Jones got involved that the author was persuaded to allow the special to be made.
When he got a first look at the initial sketches for the Grinch, Seuss reportedly told Jones, “That doesn’t look like the Grinch, that looks like you!”
While recounting the story in a 1994 interview, Jones joked, “Well, it happens.”
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS has gone on to be one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time. People around the world can’t wait to watch the animated classic this holiday season!
Read Next: Can THE GRINCH Teach Us About Sincere Christmas Joy?
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