Thanksgiving is the ideal holiday to get together with family and share great food, spend the long weekend being lazy, and top it off with some TV — whether a football game or afamily-friendly Thanksgiving-themed movie. However, another medium with a rich history of celebrating the holiday season that can go overlooked is television, with many sitcoms, dramas, and cartoons getting into the spirit of giving thanks.
So grab a turkey leg, a heaping portion of mashed potatoes, and veggies (if you have room on your plate), and sink into some of these weird and entertaining Thanksgiving-themed TV episodes.
15The Brady Bunch — “The Un-Underground Movie”
Running for five seasons, from 1969 to 1974 and totaling 117 episodes,The Brady Bunchis about as classic as you’re able to get when it comes to iconic family sitcoms, and it is still loved to this day. While the most memorable holiday special of the show comes from “A Very Brady Christmas” released as a made-for-TV movie, the family celebration of Thanksgiving in season two is worth checking out.
The Thanksgiving Episode
In"The Un-Underground Movie,“Greg decides to make a movie about the Pilgrims for a school project and ends up enlisting the help of his family to play various roles. However, the film turns more into a family project as everyone begins to interject their ideas into the script. This episode radiates the fun of making a home movie with simple yet adorable sets and costumes. Robert Reed embracing the role of a bearded pilgrim is a true highlight in this classic episode.
Stream on Prime
14Fresh Off The Boat — “The Day After Thanksgiving”
Lasting for six seasons and a total of 116 episodes between 2015 and 2020,Fresh Off The Boatdepicts the life of a Taiwanese-American family in Florida in the 1990s. The series certainly was known to embrace the holiday spirit, with seven Christmas episodes throughout its run. Regarding Thanksgiving, the series only had two specials,Huangsgivingfrom season 2, and"The Day After Thanksgiving"from season four.
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Originally planning to skip Thanksgiving, the Huang family decides to hold dinner after Louis intervenes and invites Grandma’s ESL teacher Bernard (played by LGBT+ icon George Takei) to dinner after noticing their flirtation in class. To show her appreciation, Grandma Haung offers to make the whole dinner. More wholesome than on the weird side, the episode is the perfect family gathering episode with the dose of comedy the series is known for. There is also an entertaining side story of Evan trying to prove his maturity by convincing Eddie and Emery to sneak him into his first R-rated movie.
Stream on Hulu
13Will & Grace — “Homo for the Holidays”
Running for a total of 11 seasons, with the original eight running from 1998 to 2006 and subsequent seasons having a more sporadic release schedule,Will and Gracehad no shortage of holiday-themed episodes. However, out of all of them, the one that stands out is"Homo for the Holidays”(season two, episode seven).
This episode is best summarized in the trade-off between Grace and Karen: Grace: “Hmmm. Well, you’ve come on a good night. Jack’s mother is going to be joining us, and she doesn’t know Jack’s gay.” Karen: “How could she not know? What is she, headless?” It indeed came as a surprise that Jack’s mother was unaware that her son was gay, so the subsequent dinner with that looming over the Thanksgiving feast made for a hilariously awkward gathering. Thankfully, things turn out for the best, andJack gets closurewhile learning something about his family that makes him feel thankful for the holiday.
12Gilmore Girls — “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”
Running for seven seasons and 153 episodes,Gilmore Girlsoften embraced the holidays. Undeniably, the focus on community in Stars Hollow always meant that every celebration brought the town together in a meaningful and humorous manner. This is true of Season 3, Episode 9:“A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving,“which offers some great moments of interaction between the expressive cast.
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Rory and Lorelai find themselves juggling four Thanksgiving dinners across town, resulting in a rush to get to each other and brief but hilarious interactions with various locals. However, this episode is one of the better ‘Kirk craziness’ episodesafter he adopts a catand decides to name it Kirk. Human Kirk and cat Kirk go to war throughout the episode. It gets intense when Kirk claims that 60% of his body is now scratched and that the feline tried to garrote him with a ball of yarn. Also, Lane lands her first kiss in this episode, delighting fans everywhere.
Stream on Netflix
11Roseanne — “The Last Thursday in November”
The original run ofRoseanneconsists of 231 episodes, airing from 1988 to 1997 across nine seasons. Focusing on an endearing and occasional dysfunctional family dynamic, it is no surprise that the hit TV show had many holiday-themed episodes during its run. This also extends to Thanksgiving, with many of those six episodes having pivotal plot points in the series. However, for those who want a silly revisit to the TV show for the holiday, your best bet is season eight, episode eight,“The Last Thursday in November.”
After DJ’s teacher allows free rein for a school project, the kid decides to do anhomage to Quentin Tarantino’sPulp Fictionin his retelling of Thanksgiving. This angers the parents at the school, while the Connors fully embrace their son’s outlandish approach to retelling of the holiday. Also included in the episode isRoseanneinviting local indigenous people to join in on her holiday celebrations. The perfect mix of comedy and touching moments, it is the most straightforward and entertaining episode to jump into during this Thanksgiving.
Stream on Peacock
10Modern Family — “Punkin Chunkin”
Modern Familyhas 250 episodes across 11 seasons, with seven Christmas-themed episodes, seven Thanksgiving episodes, and seven Halloween episodes — seven seemed to be the magic number! This is not surprising considering the family-centric nature ofModern Family,and many of the holiday entries stand out for that very reason.
As is usual in the series, the episode weaves several plotlines throughout"Punkin Chunkin,“but what makes this the best Thanksgiving episode comes from Mitchell doubting Cameron’s “punkin chunkin” story. Combining this with some other disputes between families causes them to divide themselves into two teams: “Dreamers” and “Realists.” This culminates in them taking to a football field to fling some pumpkins! “Punkin Chunkin” is, admittedly, one of those episodes that lacks meaningful substance, but it is a perfect bit of family drama/entertainment to watch before Thanksgiving.
9Friends — “The One With Chandler in The Box”
Arguably the greatest sitcom of all time,Friendsran for ten seasons, from 1994 to 2004, and each season had at least one holiday episode. And the most celebrated holiday of the group? Thanksgiving! The series has had one for each season compared to the 8 Christmas episodes throughout all ten seasons.
The Thanksgiving Day Episode
Friendshad a delightful number of silly episodes, but none more so than their Turkey Day ones.“The One With Chandler in The Box"is from season four, and has the absurd continued joke of Chandler staying inside a wooden box for the holiday to make amends for kissing Joey’s girlfriend Kathy. On top of that, the group attempts to plan a ‘Secret Santa,’ which only leads to speculation and plotting.
Stream on Max
8Seinfield — “The Mom and Pop Shop”
The ‘Show About Nothing’ and one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time,Seinfeldran for nine seasons, leaving behind 180 episodes of comedy gold. Despite this, the show was not heavy on creating holiday-specific episodes, with only six throughout its run. Even then, these episodes were generally Christmas-themed, with some only lining up because of the decorations on set. This is part of what makes the Thanksgiving episode such a stand-out.
Season 6, Episode 8,“The Mom and Pop Shop"has a lot going on at once (like mostSeinfeldepisodes): George buys a car that he believes was previously owned by actor Jon Voight, Kramer gives bad advice to a small shoe-repair business, Elaine answers a radio quiz to win her boss a spot in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Jerry tries to figure out whether he was snubbed for a party.In typicalSeinfeldfashion, everything kind of weaves together in an unforgettable comedy of errors. The episode also has a guest appearance by Jon Voight, who we learn bites people when confronted.
73rd Rock From the Sun — “Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick”
Originally airing from 1996 to 2001 and running for a total of six seasons,3rd Rock From The Sunremains an endearing fan favorite. Following five aliens that land on planet Earth and their struggles to understand planetary customs, the holidays made for an ideal way to test their knowledge, or lack thereof, of human traditions.
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The Solomon family, constantly struggling with new events, mistake the Thanksgiving rush forthe end of the worldand start preparing accordingly. Thankfully, Mrs. Dubcek is there to help the family, along with her daughter Vicky. The highlight of"Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick"is Vicky and Harry crushing on each other, with Harry getting a kiss while wearing a half-eaten turkey carcass on top of his head.
Stream on Hooplah
6Scream Queens — “Thanksgiving”
Running for two seasons from 2015 to 2016,Scream Queensmay not have lasted long, but it found a fanbase for its dark humor and horror-inspired story. Each season follows a serial killer stalking his prey in a different location, with the first season on a campus and the second in a hospital. The Thanksgiving episode took place in episode ten of the inaugural season.
An enjoyable episode from start to finish,“Thanksgiving"allows many cast members to work off each other in an awkward dinner setting for humorously dark results. Like most macabre family gatherings, the episode also marked some revelations about the ‘Red Devil Killer(s)’ mystery, including learning about the father of the tub girl’s kid. We will keep it vague for those who have yet tocheck out this gem of a series, but the Thanksgiving episode is easily one of the most entertaining and absurdly humorous in the series.
