Ever since Dr. Seuss first introduced the Grinch, his Christmas tale has become a true seasonal tradition. In 2025, there are more ways than ever to watch it.
Dr. Seuss’s holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! first debuted in 1957 and has since been adapted three times. From the original animated TV special to the live-action version starring Jim Carrey, each adaptation holds a special place in fans’ hearts.
Unfortunately, finding ways to watch all three versions has become a bit trickier — and more expensive — thanks to the rise of streaming services and ever-changing distribution rights. But don't worry, we've got you covered with all the places you can watch each version of Dr. Seuss's beloved Christmas story.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Starting with the first adaptation, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which many consider a perennial holiday special. The animated classic features the voice of Boris Karloff as both the Grinch and the narrator. It originally aired on CBS in December 1966.
These days, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is available to stream with a subscription to Peacock, which costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 for the year for the Premium plan. This is undoubtedly the easiest way to watch the holiday special, especially for those without traditional cable.
That said, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! will also air multiple times on NBC and the Turner Networks (TNT, TBS) throughout the holiday season. If you've got a traditional TV provider or a live TV streaming service (like Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV), then you can tune into How the Grinch Stole Christmas! when it airs at the following times:
- NBC
- Thursday, December 4 at 8:00 p.m. ET
- Thursday, December 25 (Christmas Day) at 8:00 p.m. EST
- TNT
- Saturday, December 20 at 12:00 p.m. ET
- TBS
- Saturday, December 13 at 4:00 p.m. EST and 10:30 p.m. EST
- Sunday, December 21 at 7:30 p.m. EST and 10:30 p.m. EST
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 Live-Action)
Up next we've got Ron Howard's live-action version which starred Jim Carrey as the titular mean green one. The film was released in theaters in November 2000 and while it received mixed reviews, it's still adored by many, especially for Carrey's brilliant comedic performance.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is pretty easy to fnid this holiday season. Because it's a Universal Pictures-produced film, you can easily stream it on Peacock. It's also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. For those who want the original experience, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas will be returning to theaters on December 12th to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary.
Of course, there's also traditional cable TV. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a major part of Freeform's "25 Days of Christmas" programming and will air on the following dates:
All times are Eastern Time (ET):
- Tuesday, Dec. 2: 8:20 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 3: 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 6: 10:15 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 7: 4:35 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 8: 4:15 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 9: 11:35 a.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 10: 8:20 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 11: 3:25 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 15: 8:20 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 16: 1:10 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 20: 8:45 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 21: 1:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 23: 9:45 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 24: 5:35 p.m.
If you don't want a streaming subscription and don't have cable TV, you can always rent or buy a digital copy from video-on-demand services like Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, and YouTube.
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018)
The most recent of the three adaptations, Dr.Seuss' The Grinch is a computer-animated retelling of the classic tale by Illumination, the same studio that created Despicable Me. The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch with Pharrell Williams narrating. It also features Kenan Thompson, Rashida Jones, and Cameron Seely. It's generally considered lighter in tone than the other versions and is a bit more appealing to kids, in my opinion, because of its cute visual and slapstick humor.
Another Universal Pictures film, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch can be streamed on Peacock. It will also air multiple times on Freeform as part of the "25 Days of Christmas" broadcast schedule. Below are the scheduled airings:
- Monday, Dec 1: 5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec 3: 7:55 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec 4: 2:30 p.m.
- Monday, Dec 8: 9:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec 10: 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec 14: 2:05 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec 15: 12:10 p.m.
- Monday, Dec 16: 3:50 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec 18: 2:30 p.m.
- Friday, Dec 20: 10:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec 23: 9:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec 25: 4:00 p.m.
It looks like the easiest way to watch all three versions of The Grinch is to get a subscription to Peacock. Unfortunately, the lowest-priced "Select" plan excludes most of the extensive movie library, including these films, so you'll need to subscribe to Peacock Premium or Premium Plus for full access. Peacock Premium has ads and costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year. Premium Plus removes ads, but costs $16.99/month or $169/year.