The 10 best Thanksgiving TV episodes ever, from 'Friends' to 'The Sopranos'
Thanksgiving may be a time to spend with family, but don't forget to pencil in a few hours for your favorite TV families, too.
Thanksgiving TV episodes are a grand old tradition that features some of the best TV characters of all time, from the Peanuts gang to "Gilmore Girls" and, of course, our very special New York "Friends." As the holiday approaches this year, and in honor of the celebration of family, food and gratitude, we rounded up the 10 best Turkey Day TV episodes.
10. 'The Sopranos' Season 3 Episode 8: “He Is Risen” (2001)
Stream on Max
If there was one fictional family you would prefer not to hang out with on the holiday (or any day), it's HBO's Sopranos. This tense episode does Thanksgiving as it can only be done by mobsters: with a dead stripper, Ecstasy and a narcoleptic member of a prayer group. Tony (James Gandolfini) has a lot to be thankful for, apparently.
9. 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 2 Episode 7: “Lockdown” (2014)
Stream on Netflix, Peacock
Nobody wants to work on Thanksgiving. And no one wants to be locked in a police precinct while a mysterious package is investigated on Thanksgiving. Fox's (and later, NBC's) "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" takes a classic sitcom “bottle episode” (where everyone stays in one location for the entire half-hour) and gives it its own, quirky twist: a lock-in, but with prisoners, lawyers and cops.
8. 'Grey’s Anatomy' Season 2 Episode 9: “Thanks For the Memories” (2005)
Streaming on Netflix, Hulu
Some Thanksgiving episodes are fun romps with an excuse for some table humor. Others, like this early tearjerker episode of ABC's enduring medical drama, can pull your heartstrings, just like every other episode. If Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and her comatose father don't get you, this speech from Izzie (Katherine Heigl) will: "We have this one day, one day where we get to be like everybody else. One day to be normal. One day where nobody lives and nobody dies on our watch. It's like a gift."
7. 'The West Wing' Season 2 Episode 8: “Shibboleth” (2000)
Stream on Max
With true "West Wing" idealism, Aaron Sorkin marries its portrayal of Thanksgiving with an episode about Chinese Christian immigrants attempting to seek refuge in the United States because of religious persecution. It's heavy-handed, but so was everything else about NBC's "Wing," and the episode leaves lots of time for levity, particularly the sight gag of C.J. (Allison Janney) walking into her office and discovering two turkeys hanging out.
6. 'How I Met Your Mother' Season 3 Episode 9: “Slapsgiving” (2007)
Stream on Netflix, Hulu
What's better than Thanksgiving? Why, Slapsgiving, of course! In this CBS "Mother" episode, Marshall (Jason Segel) renames the holiday in honor of his "slap bet" with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). Waiting to see that slap (and the subsequent musical number) is enough to get the audience through the breakup tension between Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders).
5. 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' (1973)
Every holiday needs a little bit of Linus and Lucy. And in this case, a dinner party thrown by Peppermint Patty. Not as famous as the Halloween and Christmas Peanuts specials, "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," first aired on CBS, is still full of warmth and seasonal cheer.
4. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 4 Episode 8: “Pangs” (1999)
Stream on Hulu, Tubi
It wouldn't be a "Buffy" Thanksgiving without the slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) facing a thematic supernatural threat, existential angst and relationship drama, all of which "Pangs" delivers handily. In addition to its demon-slaying Thanksgiving antics, this WB episode contains our very favorite quote about the holiday from Anya (Emma Caulfield): “To commemorate a past event you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual sacrifice. With pie.” Happy Turkey Day, indeed.
3. 'Gilmore Girls' Season 3 Episode 9: “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” (2002)
Stream on Netflix
Family drama (and comedy) is what made WB's "Gilmore Girls" such a beloved series, so it's no wonder a holiday filled with the joys and pitfalls of our relations makes for ripe "Gilmore" storytelling. In Season 3, Lorelai and Rory attend four Thanksgiving dinners with their friends and family, forcing them to eat a lot, sure, but also to code-switch and perform for each group they encounter. It's funny, a little sad and deeply rooted in love, just like the best "Gilmore" episodes.
2. 'Friends' Season 5 Episode 8: “The One With All the Thanksgivings” (1998)
Stream on Max
In a show famous for its Thanksgiving episodes, which one is the best? While all of NBC's "Friends" holiday outings are classics (football, Brad Pitt, Underdog and more) this Season 5 episode, in which the gang relives their worst Thanksgivings, wins out. It combines some of the best elements of the show, from the flashbacks to Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler’s (Matthew Perry) relationship. Plus, there are turkeys on top of people's heads in one of the sitcom's best visual gags.
1. 'WKRP in Cincinnati' Season 1 Episode 7: “Turkeys Away” (1978)
Available to purchase digitally
Classics are timeless for a reason. This sweet 1978-82 CBS sitcom had plenty of workplace comedic tomfoolery, but none was more shocking and hilarious than the ending of this absurd Thanksgiving story. The only thing you need to remember is this quote: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thanksgiving TV episodes: The 10 best of all time
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