How to watch 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' on NBC

A Christmas classic is returning to its original home.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the longest-running Christmas special in television history, will be shown on NBC for the first time in over 50 years this month. The return will include two presentations of an extended version of the beloved special.

The first showing is slated for Friday night, exactly 60 years after "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" premiered on NBC. Following its 1964 debut, the stop-motion animation aired annually on the network until 1972.

Now, more than five decades later, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is set for its NBC homecoming. Here's what to know:

When will 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' air on TV?

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will make its official return to NBC on Friday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. PT.

NBC will then air an encore presentation on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. PT.

When did 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' first air on TV?

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" premiered on NBC on Dec. 6, 1964.

Who created 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?'

The iconic Christmas story of Rudolph started as a poem by Robert L. May in the 1930s. May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, then adapted the story into a song in the 1940s.

The TV special was created by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions, which was previously known as Videocraft International.