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For a holiday built around eating, there sure is a lot of stuff to watch on Thanksgiving. There’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and all that football as well as all the Christmas movies that you’ve been anxiously waiting to rewatch. But any Thanksgiving streaming diet won’t be balanced if you don’t include a few seasonally appropriate sitcom episodes!
Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving might just be the one that brings out the best in sitcoms. Sure, it’s great seeing your faves get spooky on Halloween and jolly on Christmas, but this holiday in particular is stuffed with traditions that make for a hilarious TV feast. Visiting relatives, elaborate meals, complicated recipes, old rivalries, and complex familial hierarchies are all on display in Thanksgiving episodes, and a lot of shows really serve up something special.
Below you’ll find a list of the 10 greatest Thanksgiving sitcom episodes that you can stream right now on one of the major streaming platforms (Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video). And just to provide more options on this TV buffet, we’re only including one episode per show (because lord knows you could fill a list with just Friends, Bob’s Burgers, and New Girl episodes). Let these hilarious half hours keep you entertained while you’re prepping for the big meal or relaxing on the couch with your fam.
'How I Met Your Mother,' "Slapsgiving" (2007)
There’s one thing we can all agree on: we’ve all wanted to slap someone at Thanksgiving dinner at one time or another. But unlike all of us who repress that urge to maintain the peace, Marshall builds his entire turkey day around slapping Barney. “Slapsgiving” is a favorite amongst HIMYM fans for a reason: it hides a major emotional moment (will Ted and Robin get back together?!) inside a hilariously silly plot, kinda like a sitcom turducken.
'Frasier,' "A Lilith Thanksgiving" (1996)
Thanksgiving is a perfect excuse to bring old characters back for an episode, and that’s just what Frasier did with Cheers alum Bebe Neuwirth in this wacky holiday treat. Kelsey Grammer reunites with his TV ex-wife in a plot that brings out the neurotic best in both of them. Can Frasier and Lilith convince the head of admissions at a snooty boarding school to accept their son Frederick? And, more importantly, can Frederick survive spending the day with Uncle Niles and Grandpa Marty?
'That Girl,' "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully" (1967)
The holidays are always rough on new couples as they try to navigate expectations from their parents and potential in-laws. This relatable tension is perfect fodder for sitcoms, and no episode does it quite as well as this screwball That Girl adventure. Watch as Ann Marie (the legendary Marlo Thomas) tries to cook two different birds with two different types of stuffing in two different kitchens, all to please two sets of picky parents! Any Thanksgiving episode that involves a visit from firefighters is a good one.
Stream "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Thankfully" on Hulu
'New Girl,' "Thanksgiving IV" (2014)
What’s more awkward than a typical Thanksgiving dinner? Try adding in a six-way blind date on top of the fraught festivities and you’ve got the colossal disaster that was Schmidt’s “Bangsgiving.” New Girl always knew how to do Thanksgiving right, but their fourth is quite possibly their best thanks to the parade of mismatched partners that wander in and out of the loft.
'3rd Rock from the Sun,' "Gobble Gobble Dick Dick" (1996)
As aliens in disguise trying to blend in with humanity, there’s no better sitcom family to satirize Thanksgiving than the Solomons. Their panicked reactions throughout are perfect representations of how we all feel on this holiday, except we’ve all learned to stuff those feelings. Not the Solomons! They work (Sally), shout (Tommy), fret (Dick), and lust (Harry) with an intensity that you rarely see in one of these episodes. But stealing the entire show is Jan Hooks’ performance as Ms. Dubcek’s horny daughter. You’ve never seen someone chomp into a drumstick with such desire.
'Bob's Burgers,' "Turkey in a Can" (2013)
No one loves Thanksgiving as much as Bob Belcher, which is why he is enraged when he keeps finding his beloved bird dumped in the toilet. Bob’s Burgers does the holidays right every year, but all the rest of the show’s Thanksgiving episodes sit at the kids’ table compared to “Turkey in a Can.” Every plot in this one is a delight, from the central toilet mystery to Tina’s campaign to sit at the adult’s table, Bob’s unintentional flirting with the deli guy, and Linda’s Thanksgiving jam “Sailors in Your Mouth.”
'Will & Grace,' "Homo for the Holidays" (1999)
It takes a real special show to knock out a Thanksgiving episode that is not only funny, but completely nails the emotional vulnerability that comes from being around your family. “Homo for the Holidays” goes a step further than most by including what may be the very first sitcom depiction of a ritual that’s all too real for plenty of viewers: coming out. And while Jack struggles with telling his mom the truth, Grace and Karen get into an over-the-top competition over who is Jack’s real (re: fake) girlfriend. You’ll never hear the words “bibb lettuce” the same way again.
'The Bob Newhart Show,' "Over the River and Through the Woods" (1975)
In the grand history of Thanksgiving episodes, few loom as large as “Over the River and Through the Woods.” It’s also widely considered to be the best Bob Newhart Show episode ever, and with good reason. With his wife Emily out of town on Thanksgiving, Bob and his equally stranded buds (and one patient) get together to watch football and drink. A lot. Too much. This screwball episode features a dense string of callbacks and non sequiturs that still earn LOLs today. This episode is a must-watch this holiday, as prescribed by Dur Bob Hartley.
'Friends,' "The One Where Ross Got High" (1999)
Choosing only one Friends Thanksgiving episode poses a real conundrum because so many of them are so good. But edging out the show’s stellar Season 1 Thanksgiving episode and Season 3’s joke-filled football game has to be Season 6’s, a fast-paced farcical masterpiece. Monica won’t tell her parents she’s dating Chandler, Ross and Joey want to spend the day with models, Phoebe has a sudden infatuation with Monica and Ross’ dad, and then there’s Rachel’s infamous culinary monstrosity, the beef trifle. Like a great Thanksgiving dinner, these plots all taste great on their own but they’re even better when you mix’em together.
'Cheers,' "Thanksgiving Orphans" (1986)
More so than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is about the people you spend it with. That’s what makes the holiday so great for ensemble comedies, and that’s why Cheers–the greatest ensemble of all time–hits a new height in this Season 5 episode. This is an episode about found and chosen families, how they function like any other family, and how they form without you even realizing it. These Thanksgiving orphans come together, mostly against their will, and ultimately realize there’s no place they’d rather be. Of course they have to duke it out first, as boiling tensions lead to the greatest food fight in sitcom history. “Thanksgiving Orphans” is funny, messy, sentimental, and snarky–and it’s exactly what this holiday is about.
