Food fights, flashbacks, and turkeys on tumble-dry describe only a few of the best Thanksgiving episodes to watch in 2023. Once upon a time, our holiday viewing consisted of watching a few minutes of the Thanksgiving Day Parade on a staticky TV and maybe some Thanksgiving movies; now, however, with the advent of streaming, it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to get into the Turkey Day spirit a little early.
Whether you’re like us, and want to balance the hustle of the holiday with some festive distractions, or you’re looking for some cozy classics to turn on after clearing your plate, here are the best Thanksgiving-themed episodes to watch now.
Bob’s Burgers, Season 4, Episode 5: “Turkey in a Can”
Bob’s Burgers never fails to serve up the perfect mix of ridiculousness and sarcasm, especially in this episode. By Season 4, Bob’s love of Thanksgiving has been well established, but despite his best efforts to craft the perfect overnight roast, somehow his turkey always ends up in the toilet. What begins as a mystery, however, ends with Bob realizing that he doesn’t want his eldest daughter to grow up too fast. If those two things don’t feel quite related, just trust us and watch the episode. It’ll all make sense.
Modern Family, Season 6, Episode 8: “Three Turkeys”
Count on the Pritchett-Dunphy clan to deliver the best holiday-themed episodes on television. Here, Phil and Luke take over the Thanksgiving cooking while Claire secretly makes a backup turkey in case the boys’ meal falls through. Phil and Gloria hide from the rest of the family in the hopes of finally having a quiet holiday on their own without the crew’s antics, and Mitch and Cam have trouble reeling in Lily’s attitude. From suitcase turkeys to shrinking turkeys, bank on getting a good laugh.
New Girl, Season 1, Episode 6: “Thanksgiving”
Jess invites fellow teacher and would-be love interest Paul to spend Thanksgiving with her, convincing the gang to have a proper holiday instead of opting for their usual “Dudesgiving,” consisting of watching football, drinking, and Black Friday-shopping. (She gets the official green light from Schmidt by inviting her gorgeous bestie CeCe along, too.) The funniest part of this episode is when Jess can’t unthaw the huge turkey she buys at the last minute for dinner; she proceeds to stuff the frozen bird into the oven with a baseball bat before eventually tossing it in the dryer—all to no avail. The group does, however, end up having to buy a new machine…so Black Friday shopping is back on.
This Is Us, Season 1, Episode 8: “Pilgrim Rick”
You can’t watch This is Us without crying at least once per episode, which is my warning to all who watch “Pilgrim Rick.” In true This Is Us style, the episode jumps back and forth between the Pearson family’s past and present. We see a pivotal Thanksgiving from when the Pearson triplets were kids: The family has to hunker down in a cabin after bursting a tire on the way to Rebecca’s parents’ house. While Jack does the best he can to turn the cabin into a cozy holiday cottage, he ends up establishing some long-standing Pearson holiday traditions, including Thanksgiving hotdogs and the eponymous “Pilgrim Rick.” The core memory gives reason to Randall’s love for the holiday, as it serves as a warm reminder of the Pearsons’ father. However, in the present, as Randall hosts the Pearson family dinner at his house—and the first one with his biological father—emotional old secrets come to light.
Seinfeld, Season 6, Episode 8: “The Mom & Pop Store”
Kramer tries to save a local mom-and-pop shop from going out of business while inadvertently helping Jerry get scammed; Elaine wins her boss a spot in the Thanksgiving Parade, only to lose herself a date; and Jerry accidentally destroys a float. But the best part—and running joke throughout the episode—is George’s obsession with actor Jon Voight, who performs the bite of his life.
Succession, Season 1, Episode 5: “I Went to Market”
Still missing Succession? Well, season one’s Thanksgiving episode is worth revisiting. Logan Roy’s estranged brother Ewan (James Cromwell) makes an appearance, sowing additional conflict in a family already rife with it. Bonus: We see Connor’s escort-slash-playwright girlfriend Willa for one of the first times in this episode.
Fresh Off the Boat, Season 2, Episode 8: “Huangsgiving”
The most traditionally American of holidays got a much-needed update on season two of Fresh Off the Boat, with matriarch Jessica winning out to host the big celebration (and, of course, going slightly nuts from the pressure). Any holiday that features both Cornish game hen and bok choy is guaranteed to delight.
Master of None, Season 2, Episode 8: “Thanksgiving”
It’s a little harder to wholeheartedly enjoy Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series since those allegations about him came out, but that shouldn’t take away from the perfection of season two’s “Thanksgiving” episode, for which Lena Waithe became the first-ever Black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing. The episode is a stunning examination of race, sexuality, friendship, family, and what it really means to be accepted, all in just over 30 minutes.
The Sopranos, Season 3, Episode 8: “He Is Risen”
There’s nothing like an episode of The Sopranos to make you grateful for your own normal-in-comparison family. (Assuming you don’t come from a mob clan, that is.) This episode is significant because Tony Soprano actually displays some degree of—gasp—morality, attempting to un-invite an associate, who recently committed a particularly gruesome crime, from his family’s Thanksgiving.
How I Met Your Mother, Season 3, Episode 9: “Slapsgiving”
It’s Marshall and Lily’s first Thanksgiving as a married couple, and they have the whole gang over to celebrate. While Lily frets over making the perfect meal, Robin and Ted deal with the residual sexual tension from their recent breakup as Robin tries to move on with a new man who’s also in attendance at the dinner (who, at the age of 41, is, by everyone else’s standards, ancient). The most amusing events of the night, however, revolve around Barney and Marshall: After losing a slap bet to Marshall, Barney is living in perpetual fear of when Marshall will enact his payment and bring on the third slap.
The West Wing, Season 2, Episode 8: “Shibboleth”
In one of the best plotlines ever, C.J. is given two turkeys and forced to choose between which one will be pardoned and sent free after a ceremony, and which one will be eaten on Thanksgiving. Elsewhere in the White House, they’re dealing with illegal immigration, school prayer, and the be-all-end-all carving knife, making for an all around action-packed, hour-long episode that isn’t to be missed.
Gilmore Girls, Season 3, Episode 9: “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”
In this episode of the quintessential fall girl show, we get a humorous look into the Gilmores’ stacked holiday, as Lorelai and Rory try to keep up with the four Thanksgiving Day dinners they’ve committed to. Current and former boyfriends collide; Lorelai, Emily, and Richard, in true Gilmore fashion, implode over the dinner table; and Rory reveals a plot-twisting college decision.
Friends, Season 5, Episode 8: “The One With All the Thanksgivings”
This is also the one where Chandler loses his toe, the one where Joey’s a turkey, and the one where Phoebe’s a French nurse. After a filling holiday dinner that has the group down for the count, everyone reminisces on Thanksgivings past—specifically, their worst ones. All the flashbacking leads to the revelation of a few long-kept secrets, including a final romantic one from Chandler.
That ’70s Show, Season 1, Episode 9: “Thanksgiving”
Something that That ’70s Show always did incredibly well was show the inner workings of a family: From tough times to the most hilarious interactions, they’re all documented in a way that feels totally spot-on. This Thanksgiving episode is no different—Laurie comes home to visit with a friend who puts Eric in hot water with Donna, and Red’s mother reminds them too many times to pick her up from the airport...and gets forgotten. Jobs, finances, and family tensions—this episode’s got it all.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 9, Episode 10: “The Gang Squashes Their Beefs”
After the gang finds out they can’t rent the movie they want to watch over Thanksgiving due to an un-squashed beef with the McPoyles, and that they can’t eat the hoagies they want from the WaWa due to their un-squashed beef with Gail the Snail, they decide to bring everyone they have problems with over for a Thanksgiving dinner to squash the beef. Suffice it to say, that doesn’t happen—but you’ll be in tears over the best characters’ epic returns to battle it out.
South Park, Season 17, Episode 7: “Black Friday"
A couple of things about this episode: It was nominated for an Emmy, it’s part of a three-episode arc (which you should watch the entirety of), and it’s the South Park take on Game of Thrones. Centered around the madness of Black Friday, Randy Marsh has taken a job as a security guard in order to be the first one to get to the discounts, and the boys are dressed as their favorite GoT characters in a role-playing game that spirals into a battle over which console they should pool their money to buy. It’s all-out war in South Park, and it’s endlessly amusing from start to finish.
Gossip Girl, Season 1, Episode 9: “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!”
In the first Thanksgiving of Gossip Girl, Blair un-invites Serena to her home after they have a fight over her feelings for Chuck. So Dan swoops in to save the day, having Serena and her family over, only to learn about the shocking history between Rufus and Lily—all while Blair deals with her issues with her father and her struggles with disordered eating. Meanwhile, Nate’s family is in meltdown mode and his father overdoses on painkillers, forcing them to have a frank discussion about how important he is to the family. It’s all drama all the time for this crew, but this is an exceptionally drama-packed episode.
The Simpsons, Season 2, Episode 7: “Bart vs. Thanksgiving”
In one of the most classic (and, frankly, best) episodes of The Simpsons, Bart runs away from home after he angers the entire family, and he spends the holiday on The Wrong Side of the Tracks, which shows him that maybe his life isn’t so bad after all—but his family freaks out after they see him on the news, and they call the police on their missing son. After much cajoling, Bart apologizes to his family and they have one of the most heartfelt Thanksgiving dinners of all time.
The OC, Season 1, Episode 11: “The Homecoming”
Not unlike “Bart vs. Thanksgiving,” “The Homecoming” focuses on Ryan’s return to the other side of town to help out his brother, who’s in jail, take care of business. Marissa tags along for the trip down memory lane, while back in Newport, Seth deals with a failed setup and an unexpected hook-up with Anna that leads to him have a heart-to-heart with Sandy about how confused he is about which woman he should be with. Debts are paid and hearts are broken, but at the end of the day, it’s clear that everyone is ready to move forward from Thanksgiving and on to the next holiday.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 4, Episode 8: “Pangs”
Joss Whedon has gone on record saying this is one of his favorite episodes of the show, although it received a mixed response at the time it aired. The spirit of a member of an indigenous tribe eradicated by settlers returns to haunt their descendants. All of the key cast members are in attendance at the Thanksgiving dinner Buffy has arranged, and they team up to fight the spirit while understanding the origins of the holiday they’re celebrating—and the fact that it’s not all thanks and gratefulness.
Orange Is the New Black, Season 1, Episode 9: “Fucksgiving”
During the preparations for Taystee’s leaving party, Pennsatucky rats her out for dancing with Piper, and resulting in her getting thrown into the SHU, missing her Thanksgiving reunion with her husband Larry. There are a lot of things that happen in this episode—Larry gets asked to do a show on his relationship with Piper, Piper loses her mind in the SHU, Daya decides to keep her baby, Mendez throws down with Red, and Healy tries to break up Piper and Larry—but the most important event is that this is the episode in which Piper and Alex finally break the sexual tension and consummate their new relationship.
Bob’s Burgers, Season 3, Episode 5: “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal”
Bob is enormously excited about Thanksgiving, but when Fischoeder offers him a free month of rent in exchange for Bob’s family playing his own family in order to impress a woman, there’s no way Bob can say no. He is tasked as the cook, and starts to go off the rails from steadily consuming absinthe while his family competes for tickets (the compensation for the most convincing performance of the fake family they’re portraying). It’s inevitable that everything’s going to explode—and it does, in the most glorious fashion.