All three major Grinch films stream on Peacock this Christmas, and each one has its own title page there: the 1966 Chuck Jones cartoon, the 2000 Jim Carrey live-action film, and Illumination's 2018 animated version. If you don't subscribe, all three are also available to rent or buy from Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Google Play/YouTube. The broadcast picture is less settled. NBC has confirmed the classics return this season, but it had not published December air dates for them as of mid-November, so plan around the streaming options and treat any specific date you see circulating as a guess.
Table of Contents
- The three versions, and which Peacock page each one lives on
- Which one to put on, depending on who is watching
- Watching free over the air on NBC
- Renting instead of subscribing
- Why all of this sits with one company now
- The version a roundup cannot promise you
- Frequently Asked Questions
The three versions, and which Peacock page each one lives on
The 1966 special is the short one. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" runs roughly 25 to 30 minutes, was directed by Chuck Jones, and features Boris Karloff both narrating and voicing the Grinch. It streams on its own Peacock title page with a subscription. The 2000 film is the live-action one, with Jim Carrey under several hours of green makeup as the Grinch and Ron Howard directing.
Peacock carries "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on a separate page, and Peacock's own blog lists it as included with Peacock Premium and Premium Plus — not as a paid rental on top of the subscription. The 2018 film is the animated feature from Illumination, the studio behind the Minions. It runs an hour and 30 minutes, Benedict Cumberbatch voices the Grinch, and it is listed on Peacock as a streamable animated family title for account holders. That makes it the longest of the three and the gentlest in tone, which matters if you are picking one for small children.
Which one to put on, depending on who is watching
Running time is the first filter. The 1966 special is a half-hour, which fits a bedtime slot and an attention span under five years old. The 2018 film is 90 minutes and built for the same age group at feature length. The 2000 film is live-action, louder, and aimed at a slightly older audience.
Fidelity to the book is the second filter. The 1966 version is close to Dr. Seuss's text, with Karloff reading much of it aloud. Both features invent a backstory for the Grinch that the book never gives him — a reason he turned out the way he did — so a reader who wants the original story told straight should start with 1966. If you are running a marathon, chronological order is also ascending order by length, which keeps the attention demands climbing rather than dropping off.
Watching free over the air on NBC
NBC has confirmed the holiday classics return for the 2026-27 season. Its 2026 fall schedule announcement, carried by The Futon Critic, names "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" among the annual favorites — but it attaches no December air dates. The most recent dated schedule is still NBC's release from the prior season, and it gives a useful shape for what to expect. In that lineup the 1966 Grinch aired Thursday, Dec. 4 from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m.
ET with a Christmas Day encore at 8 p.m., Frosty followed at 8:30 p.m. the same night, and Rudolph ran Friday, Dec. 5 from 8:00 to 9:15 p.m. NBC's holiday lineup release historically lands in late October or early November. Until this season's version appears on NBCUniversal's press site, the "Dec. 25 at 8 p.m." listings floating around fan wikis and aggregator calendars are not coming from the network.
Renting instead of subscribing
A subscription is not the only route. According to Moviefone's where-to-watch listing, all three versions are available to rent or buy digitally through Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Google Play/YouTube, with the 2000 film listed from $3.99 to rent.
The arithmetic is worth doing before you sign up. One rental is cheaper than a month of Peacock; three rentals, or a household that will also watch the Rankin/Bass specials, is not. Buying rather than renting also sidesteps the availability problem below, since a purchased digital copy stays in your library.
- Watching one film once: rent it, from roughly $3.99
- Watching all three, or re-watching across the season: a Peacock subscription
- Want it every December without checking: buy the one you re-watch
Why all of this sits with one company now
Rudolph and Frosty moved to NBC after decades on CBS, as NBC Insider explains. The practical result is that the Dr. Seuss and Rankin/Bass holiday classics now sit behind a single broadcaster and a single streamer rather than being split across networks.
That consolidation is convenient and fragile at the same time. Peacock's holiday-movie guides flag the Grinch titles as "Watch It on Peacock Now" while carrying the standard caveat that content availability varies over time — which is a plain statement that a title can leave mid-season. So check the title page before you build an evening around it, especially late in December. If a film has moved, the rental route above still works.
The version a roundup cannot promise you
"Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!", the live stage production NBC aired in 2020, is the gap in any "every version" list. Its last confirmed streaming window was on Peacock Premium from December 2020 into January 2021, according to a DocumentaryTube availability check dated Aug.
9, 2026. It is not reliably streaming in the US now. If you specifically want the musical, search it directly on the digital storefronts rather than assuming a Grinch collection page will include it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Jim Carrey Grinch free with a basic Peacock account?
Peacock's blog lists it as included with Peacock Premium and Premium Plus, not as a separate rental charge on those tiers.
Which Grinch is the shortest?
The 1966 Chuck Jones special, at roughly 25 to 30 minutes. Both the 2000 and 2018 versions are feature-length, with the Illumination film running an hour and 30 minutes.
Can I still catch the Grinch on broadcast TV for free?
NBC has confirmed the classics return this season, but had published no December air dates as of Nov. 13, 2026. Watch NBCUniversal's press releases for the dated holiday lineup.
Who voiced the Grinch in the 1966 cartoon?
Boris Karloff, who both narrated the special and voiced the character.