Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for so many reasons. While we believe gratitude should be practiced daily, it can’t hurt to have a yearly reminder of that. We absolutely love eating delicious food, surrounded by the people we care about the most, and taking in the last bit of fall before Christmas time comes crashing in. 

You all know we also live for TV (specifically sitcoms) and below are some of the best Thanksgiving TV episodes we’ve ever seen.

NEW GIRL

Thanksgiving | S1, EP6

• Summary: Jess invites her crush, Paul, over to the loft for a last-minute Thanksgiving dinner. As she tries to impress him, Schmidt and Cece argue in the kitchen, a turkey explodes and they may or may not find their elderly neighbor dead in the bathroom. Paul Genzslinger is one of the best characters to grace our TV screens and that is a fact
• Rating: 10/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Justin Long

Parents | S2, EP8

• Summary: Jess’s divorced parents and Schmidt’s brother all come to the loft for Thanksgiving. Jess’s parents won’t stop arguing so she plans to “parent trap” them and lo and behold, it works (momentarily).  Schmidt’s ultra-competitive nature with his brother spreads toxic masculinity over the whole day.
• Rating: 6/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner

Thanksgiving III | S3, EP10

• Summary: The gang decides to go camping for Thanksgiving, to everyone’s dismay. Their attempt to ‘live off the land’ is short-lived when Jess eats bad fish out of loyalty to Nick and starts hallucinating.
• Rating: 7/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

Thanksgiving IV | S4, EP9 

• Summary: Since the gang is single at the same time they plan a ‘Bangsgiving’ where they pick a date for one another to come over for Thanksgiving. Of course, this leads to everyone becoming enlightened about what they really want in a relationship- for Jess, that’s Ryan (the hot British teacher at her school).
• Rating: 9/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

Last Thanksgiving | S6, EP7 

• Summary: Schmidt’s father, Gavin, comes to the loft to spend Thanksgiving with his son. The day turns awkward for many reasons (of course) but one of which is that Gavin briefly had a fling with Jess.
• Rating: 9/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Peter Gallagher

FRIENDS

The One Where Underdog Gets Away | S1, EP9

• Summary: One by one the gang decides to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Monica’s apartment. During the Macy’s parade, the Underdog balloon gets loose and everyone runs out to the terrace to watch, and of course they get locked out leaving their dinner to burn in the oven.
• Rating: 8/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The One With the Football | S3, EP9

• Summary: The friends decide to play a fun game of touch football, which quickly turns into a competitive game between the Gellers.
• Rating: 7/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The One With Chandler In A Box | S4, EP8

• Summary: Joey is upset with Chandler for kissing Kathy so he insists he stay locked in a box for six hours. Meanwhile, Monica injures her eye making Thanksgiving dinner, and once at the hospital, she happens to be seen by Richard’s son Timothy, the on-call ophthalmologist and invites him to (an awkward) dinner.
• Rating: 6/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The One With All the Thanksgivings | S5, EP8

• Summary: The friends reminisce on their worst Thanksgiving, which happens to overlap. Chandler calls young Monica fat and she serves some iconic revenge that may or may not involve a lost toe.
• Rating: 9/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The One Where Ross Got High | S6, EP9

• Summary: The Gellers come over for Thanksgiving and are unaware that Chandler is now dating their little Harmonica. It’s revealed that they never like Chandler because he was a bad influence on Ross when that isn’t the full truth. Rachel makes her famous trifle with a layer of..beef?
• Rating: 8/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Elle Macpherson

The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs | S7, EP8

• Summary: To Rachel’s delight, her assistant, Tag, shows up at the apartment for Thanksgiving dinner and Phoebe and Monica spend the evening hiding a dog from Chandler, who has to reveal his fear of dogs.
• Rating: 6/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The One With The Rumor | S8, EP9

• Summary: Ross’s high school friend, Will, is in town so Monica invites him to Thanksgiving dinner. He, like Monica, used to be fat, and it’s revealed that Rachel used to bully him- which lead Will (and Ross) to star the ‘I Hate Rachel Green’ club.
• Rating: 10/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Brad Pitt

The One With Rachel’s Other Sister | S9, EP8

• Summary: Rachel’s bold middle sister shows up for Thanksgiving dinner and causes the friends to argue over who will care for Emma if Ross and Rachel were to die.
• Rating: 6/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Christina Applegate

The One With The Late Thanksgiving | S10, EP8

• Summary: Monica is reluctant to host Thanksgiving dinner but is ultimately convinced. She’s then immediately irritated when the friends arrive extremely late, with lame excuses.
• Rating: 7/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

GLEE

Thanksgiving | S4, EP8

• Summary:  Quinn, Mercedes, Puck, Finn, Mike, and Santana are back in Lima for the holidays and agree to help the Glee club prep for Sectionals. Meanwhile, Kurt and Rachel decide to have their own ‘orphan Thanksgiving’ in NYC. Rachel invites her crush, Brody and Kurt invites his boss (played by SJP), and of course, there is an epic musical number with a bunch of randos. At Sectionals we’re gifted with two amazing numbers by the Warblers, while the New Directions perform Gangnam style (???).
• Rating: 9/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Grant Gustin
• Musical numbers:
  • Come See About Me (The Supremes)
  • Gangnam Style (Psy)
  • Homeward Bound/Home (Simon & Garfunkel; Phillip Phillips)
  • Whistle (Flo Rida)
  • Live While We’re Young (One Direction)
  • Let’s Have a Kiki/Turkey Lurkey Time (Scissor Sisters/ Promises, Promises)

GILMORE GIRLS

A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving | S3, EP9

• Summary: Rory and Lorelai plan an epic four Thanksgiving dinners (with the Gilmores, Sookie, Luke, and Lane) in one day.
• Rating: 8/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Adam Brody

GOSSIP GIRL 

Blair Waldorf Must Pie! | S1, EP9

• Summary: After being uninvited to the Waldorf Thanksgiving, The Van der Woodsen’s spend Thanksgiving in Brooklyn with the Humphreys. The episode flashes back to the year prior when Dan met Serena for the first time and Blair’s parents were still together. 
• Rating: 7/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The Magnificent Archibalds | S2, EP11

• Summary: As Blair’s favorite holiday approaches she’s disappointed when her mother’s new boyfriend is spending Thanksgiving with them instead of her father. Nate’s father, The Captain, is on the run and begs Nate and his mother to continue their lives together, as fugitives. 
• Rating: 8/10
• Notable Guest Stars: N/A

The Treasure of Serena Madre | S3, EP11

• Summary: What would a holiday in the UES be without a web of lies? The main attraction is Serena’s ongoing affair with Nate’s married brother, Tripp. Things get awkward when Lily invites Tripp and his wife over for Thanksgiving dinner. 
• Rating: 7/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Aaron Tveit

It’s Really Complicated | S6, EP8

• Summary: Serena and Dan host their first Thanksgiving and of course nothing goes to plan…
• Rating: 8/10
• Notable Guest Stars: Barry Watson

If I missed one of your favorite Thanksgiving TV episodes, please let me know in the comments! 

xx, Britta

Disclaimer: All images taken from Google. I do not own the rights to these images.