How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV special) Director Chuck Jones and children's-book author Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had worked together on the "Private Snafu" training cartoons at Warner Bros. Cartoons during World War II. Jones was interested in adapting one of Geisel's books into a television special and approached him to turn "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" into one in time for the holiday season. Although Geisel was initially reluctant due to his unpleasant experiences making the film "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.", he eventually agreed. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and
How the 'A' Stole Christmas showrunner I. Marlene King, who also served as a writer alongside with Kyle Bown; the episode serves as King's fourth writing credit on the season, and the first directing. The title of the episode was revealed by King as an answer for a fan on the platform Reddit. The table-read for the episode occurred on July 14, 2014. Filming for the episode commenced on July 16 and wrapped on July 25, 2014. In the United States, "How the 'A' Stole Christmas" was first aired on December 9, 2014, and it achieved a viewership of 2.09 million Americans. The episode garnered