Note: This is an updated version of a list that originally ran in 2017.
Preparing for the big binge? Whether you call the upcoming holiday Friendsgiving, Slapsgiving, Bangsgiving, the Feast of Feasts — or just, you know, Thanksgiving — this year, you can be thankful that there is plenty of TV to keep you company. Join these fictional families and friend groups while they break bread or break each other’s spirits — whichever feels more comforting as you cook, eat and fade away on the couch. Yes, you may have seconds.
‘Friends’
‘The One With the Thanksgiving Flashbacks’ (Season 5, Episode 8)
Matthew Perry, who died last year, was the king of many a “Friends” Thanksgiving episode. Or as his character Chandler put it, the king of bad Thanksgivings. Or, as Monica’s mother put it, the Boy Who Hates Thanksgiving. (His disdain for the holiday stemmed from learning about his parents’ divorce one Thanksgiving as a child and vomiting in response.) Gradually, though, Chandler conquered his aversion, bailing out the gang with cheese sandwiches at the first Friendsgiving and later helping to prepare a batch of cranberry sauce (made, in his parlance, of tasty Chanberries). Fans with enough room for only one episode should seek out “The One With the Thanksgiving Flashbacks.” (Stream it on Max.)
‘South Park’
‘Black Friday,’ ‘A Song of ___ and Fire’ and ‘_______ and Dragons’ (Season 17, Episodes 7, 8 and 9)
If a long weekend of family togetherness makes you desperate for a triple dose of irreverence, Season 17 of “South Park” has you covered. In a trilogy of episodes that begins with “Black Friday” (the other two titles aren’t printable in their entirety), a local mall braces for the yearly blood bath that begins as soon as the plates are in the dishwasher. For Cartman, that means assembling an army of pint-size gamers to procure the new Xbox at a deep discount. When a pro-Playstation faction splinters off, South Park’s own “Game of Thrones” breaks out, complete with Kenny as Daenerys and a Red Robin Wedding. (Stream it on Max.)
‘Bob’s Burgers’
‘An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal’ (Season 3, Episode 5)
This Season 3 episode title makes a risqué suggestion, but don’t worry — Bob and Linda Belcher’s marriage is safe. The proposal in question comes from the rich landlord, Mr. Fischoeder, who offers the Belchers five months’ free rent for a chaste evening with Linda and the family’s three children, with Bob on hand to cook. Like other schemes on the show, this one is a disaster. But Studio Ghibli fans should look out for a lovely dream sequence that pays tribute to “My Neighbor Totoro.” (Stream it on Hulu.)
‘Gossip Girl’
‘Blair Waldorf Must Pie!’ (Season 1, Episode 9)
The first season of “Gossip Girl” was a sublime confection sweetened with glamorous costumes and forbidden love, tempered by heated conflict. All of those elements come together in the Thanksgiving episode, which jumps back in time to compare the previous year’s festivities with those of the present. In the past, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) got wasted before a dinner with the family of her best friend, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). A year later, Serena has cleaned up and Blair is struggling with bulimia. This unusually sentimental episode is a tribute to the way they take care of each other. (Stream it on Netflix.)
‘New Girl’
‘Thanksgiving IV’ (Season 4, Episode 9)
If there were a competition for biggest Thanksgiving disasters, any of the ones compiled by “New Girl” would be prize-worthy — winner winner turkey dinner. There was the one when the turkey took a tumble in the dryer and a guest (Justin Long) stumbled upon a dead body that wasn’t the bird’s (Season 1, Episode 6). And there was the one when Jess (Zooey Deschanel) almost died after eating a rotten fish … and falling in a bear trap (Season 3, Episode 10). But amid all these Thanksgiving perils, there were also hearty helpings of romance. The tastiest episode would probably be “Thanksgiving IV,” a.k.a. Bangsgiving, in which the gang’s ostensible goal was to set each other up with hot dates. Little-known fact: Aprons and potholders can be kind of sexy. (Stream it on Hulu.)
‘Seinfeld’
‘The Mom and Pop Store’ (Season 6, Episode 8)
It’s not quite Festivus, but Thanksgiving Eve turns out to be something to celebrate in this episode. There are parties to crash, actors to accost and parade balloons to deflate, too. Elaine’s boss, Mr. Pitt (Ian Abercrombie), gets seriously excited when a radio contest gives him the chance to walk with the Woody Woodpecker balloon in the Macy’s parade. In real life, the Woody balloon was punctured during the 1982 parade, and in the show, we see how Jerry Seinfeld might have inadvertently caused such a thing to happen. As a bonus, there’s also a nice homage to “Midnight Cowboy,” and Bryan Cranston guest stars as a sexy dentist. (Stream it on Netflix.)
‘How I Met Your Mother’
‘Slapsgiving’ (Season 3, Episode 9)
It is a holiday of firsts in the Thanksgiving episode from the third season of this beloved CBS sitcom. Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) are hosting their first Thanksgiving as a married couple. Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) have just broken up and are figuring out how to be friends for the first time. This is the first of three Slapsgivings (the others are in Seasons 5 and 9), named for a bet in which Marshall wins the right to slap his obnoxious pal Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), culminating in the glorious original song “You Just Got Slapped.” Be sure to read Entertainment Weekly’s oral history of the episode after watching. (Stream it on Hulu.)
‘Fresh Off the Boat’
‘No Thanks-giving’ (Season 3, Episode 5)
Why bother to honor Thanksgiving traditions when the holiday has no history with your family tree? After years of competing to host — and finally winning (“Huangsgiving”) — Jessica (Constance Wu) decides in this Season 3 episode that it isn’t worth the trouble: Capitalizing on the holiday makes more sense. But the Huangs are still part of the T-bird tradition, if not more so — keeping their restaurant open means they’re still participating, and on a much bigger scale. Unfortunately, they also have to face killing a live turkey, which turns out to be a lot harder than pardoning it. It’s completely understandable that by Season 4, they choose to dial it back (Episode 7, “The Day After Thanksgiving,” which features another parade balloon death). (Stream it on Hulu.)
‘Succession’
‘I Went to Market’ (Season 1, Episode 5)
The Roys serve up the usual feast of familial animosity at their Thanksgiving bash. The patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is especially disruptive, culminating with his lashing out at an innocent child. In this episode from Season 1, party chat includes touchy but relatable topics such as political ideologies and movie selections, but business concerns naturally trump everything. Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) has to skip most of the festivities — it seems the office shredder needs to be fed as well. (Stream it on Max.)
‘Rick and Morty’
‘Rick and Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular’ (Season 5, Episode 6)
For the mad scientist Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland), Thanksgiving is an ideal time to break into the National Archives and try to steal the Constitution. So what if some other national treasures are destroyed in the process? This episode from Season 5 finds Rick on the outs with federal authorities and fomenting an elaborate scheme to score a presidential pardon. Pretty soon, people start turning into turkeys while turkeys turn into humans. Your job, if you choose to accept this episode, is to make sense of all the gobbledygook. (Stream it on Max.)
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’
‘The Gang Squashes Their Beefs’ (Season 9, Episode 10)
For some, Thanksgiving means simply giving thanks for all one has. For the “Sunny” gang, it means asking their enemies to sign a peace treaty. In the Season 9 finale, they invite a group of people they’ve wronged to Thanksgiving dinner in an attempt to dispell the lingering consequences of bad behavior. Predictably, the whole event goes up in flames. Lesson: Maybe don’t bring an actual hatchet to bury. (Stream it on Hulu.)
‘Master of None’
‘Thanksgiving’ (Season 2, Episode 8)
This series’s Thanksgiving episode is one of its very best. Shifting the focus from our indecisive hero, Dev (Aziz Ansari), to his lifelong friend Denise (Lena Waithe), it presents a sequence of vignettes following her through two decades of Thanksgiving dinners as she struggles to come out to her mother as a lesbian. Every element of this touching half-hour feels carefully crafted, including Angela Bassett’s emotional guest performance as Denise’s mother and the nostalgic 1990s R&B soundtrack. Waithe won an Emmy for the script — which was inspired by her own family history — becoming the first Black woman to win the award for writing in a comedy. (Stream it on Netflix.)
‘The Sopranos’
‘He Is Risen’ (Season 3, Episode 8)
This Season 3 episode is a dark holiday tale, featuring a car wreck, a funeral and the beginning of an extramarital relationship. It also features a Soprano family Thanksgiving dinner that is surprisingly pleasant, thanks to the conspicuous absence of Tony’s most reprehensible associate, Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano). (Stream it on Max.)
‘Big Mouth’
‘Thanksgiving’ (Season 5, Episode 5)
Nothing says love more warmly than a perfectly roasted turkey (or even tofurkey). Such is the lesson learned by Andrew (John Mulaney) in this Season 5 episode. Andrew’s father (Richard Kind) has anger-management issues related to prepping poultry — he believes insulting the bird is the key to keeping its juices inside. Andrew decries this as “turkey tyranny” and refuses to eat. In the end, though, he and his father have a heart-to-heart about their troubled family history. Despite the usual gross-out humor, there is a genuine attempt to address issues of generational trauma — and of course the power of sharing food. (Stream it on Netflix.)
‘Gilmore Girls’
‘A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving’ (Season 3, Episode 9)
Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her teenage daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), do love to eat. In this episode from Season 3, they make cameos at no fewer than four different dinners. Rory’s friend Lane (Keiko Agena) offers a meal featuring Tofurky and a budding relationship. The perfectionist chef Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) watches in horror as her husband deep-fries a turkey. Romantic tensions are on the menu at the local diner. Lorelai’s parents serve up the usual stew of guilt and resentment. Just like Thanksgiving dinner itself, the episode is a plate piled high with sweet, salty and deliciously tart moments. (Stream it on Netflix.)
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