Whether Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday, or you need a way to escape the family drama, nothing beats a good Thanksgiving TV show special. Here’s 13 of the best Thanksgiving-themed episodes available on Netflix.
1. New Girl: “Thanksgiving IV” (Season 4, Episode 9)
Schmidt convinces the gang to participate in “Bangsgiving” – for Thanksgiving, they each have to pick a name out of a hat and bring a date for whoever they get. Nick brings Tran for himself; Winston brings an intimidating, ripped woman from the police academy for Coach; Coach brings Jess her coworker Ryan (who she can’t sleep with due to company policy); Cece worries Schmidt is going to bring himself for her; and Jess brings Winston the hot “lunch lady” from her school. This is one of the funniest New Girl episodes, and in the end, everyone ends up with someone, even if it isn’t their intended date.
Quote of the Episode: Schmidt – “You brought an old Asian man to my sex party so it wouldn’t be weird?”
2. Friends: “The One With All The Thanksgivings” (Season 5, Episode 8)
On Thanksgiving, the friends compare their worst Thanksgivings ever. This includes many hilarious flashbacks, including when Monica and Chandler first meet and she severs his toe. He learns the reason he never got it reattached was because Monica accidentally brought a carrot from Thanksgiving dinner instead of the toe with her to the hospital. To make him feel better, Monica puts a turkey on her head in this iconic scene and Chandler accidentally says ‘I love you.’
Quote of the Episode: Ross – “Her name is Carol. She’s really pretty and smart. She’s on the lacrosse team and the golf team. Can you believe it? She plays for both teams!”
3. Gossip Girl: “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!” (Season 1, Episode 9)
In the first Gossip Girl Thanksgiving episode, Blair kicks Serena out of her house over boy drama, and Serena, Lily, and Eric end up at the Humphreys, causing plenty of tension between Lily, Alison, and Rufus. Meanwhile, we see flashbacks of Thanksgiving the previous year, when Serena and Dan first met. Dan pushes a drunk Serena out of the way of a car in the street, and Blair tries to take care of her the rest of the day while managing her own family issues. In classic Gossip Girl fashion, drama follows naturally with any gathering, especially one with pie and turkey.
Quote of the Episode: Nate – “Seriously Serena you smell like the floor of a brewery…”
4. Gilmore Girls: “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” (Season 3, Episode 9)
Lorelai and Rory commit to four different Thanksgiving dinners and attempt to eat at Lane’s, Sookie’s, Luke’s, and Emily and Richard’s houses. Meanwhile, Kirk gets a cat named Kirk, and Paris struggles to find a soup kitchen that will let her volunteer and therefore improve her chances of getting into Harvard. What better way for the Gilmore girls to celebrate the holiday than to eat four giant meals?
Quote of the Episode: Lorelai: “It’s not too much food. This is what we’ve been training for our whole lives. This is our destiny, this is our finest hour.”
5. Friends: “The One Where Ross Got High” (Season 6, Episode 9)
Monica hosts Thanksgiving, and Chandler is trying to win her parents over because they don’t know they are living together. They soon find out that the Gellers do not like Chandler, because when Ross and Chandler were in college, Ross blamed the smell of weed on him, when Ross was actually the one getting high. Ross and Monica end up yelling every secret they’ve been keeping in for years in a hilarious ending scene. Meanwhile, Rachel tries to bake the one and only Thanksgiving dessert, but ends up combining half of an English trifle and half of a Shepard’s pie; the group tries to pretend to eat it to avoid making her feel bad.
Quote of the Episode: Rachel – “I wasn’t supposed to put peas in the trifle?”
6. Glee: “Thanksgiving” (Season 4, Episode 8)
Almost all of the Glee alumni come back for Thanksgiving to help the new kids prepare for sectionals with Finn as their coach. The iconic “Unholy Trinity” reunites to perform Brittany, Quinn, and Santana’s rendition of “Come See About Me.” Meanwhile, Rachel and Kurt decide to stay in New York City and host their own “Orphan’s Thanksgiving.” They end up inviting their friends and try to forget about their ex-boyfriends. This is a sentimental and drama-filled episode, and where else are you going to see the Glee cast do a mash-up of “Turkey Lurkey Time” and “Let’s Have a Kiki” with Sarah Jessica Parker?
Quote of the Episode: Kitty – “Everyday I ask myself, what would Quinn Fabray do?”
7. Orange is the New Black: “F*cksgiving” (Season 1, Episode 9)
Red cooks Thanksgiving dinner with the kitchen staff while dodging Mendez’s attempts to use her kitchen for smuggling in drugs. Taystee’s release approaches, Daya argues with her mom about her pregnancy, and Piper gets thrown in solitary confinement for dancing with Alex. This is contrasted with Larry’s traditional family Thanksgiving dinner outside of the prison. Not the most uplifting Thanksgiving special, but a great episode nonetheless.
Quote of the Episode: Red – “Taxpayers don’t give a sh*t if it’s a holiday: we’re the bad guys”
8. New Girl: “Thanksgiving” (Season 1, Episode 6)
The roommates just want to drink beer and watch football, but Jess forces them to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner because she invites Paul, a teacher from her school that she likes. However, her attempt to cook a turkey in a dryer leads to an explosion, and the episode ends with a dead body. Luckily, Paul isn’t scared off and the gang ends up Black Friday shopping together by the end of the show.
Quote of the Episode: Jess – “Whatcha gobblin’ about? Turkeys?”
9. The Office: “WUPHF.com” (Season 7, Episode 9)
Ryan and Michael try to get their coworkers to invest in Ryan’s Internet startup, WUPHF.com, while Jim loses motivation to work when he learns he reached his commission cap. Meanwhile, Dwight makes a Thanksgiving/Hay festival in the parking lot to make money off the holiday. In Dwight Shrute fashion, he ultimately crowns himself the Hay King.
Quote of the Episode: Michael – “The point is, you just have to play with the card that you’re dealt. Jim, that guy is an Ace. Dwight is my King up my sleeve. Phyllis is my Old Maid. Oscar is my Queen. That’s easy.”
10. Friends: “The One With the Football” (Season 3, Episode 9)
The friends are watching football on TV on Thanksgiving when they decide to play their own game. However, Ross and Monica reveal that they haven’t been allowed to play football together since Monica broke Ross’s nose in the Geller Cup when they were kids. The game gets competitive, and eventually, the rest of the gang goes to eat Thanksgiving dinner while Ross and Monica are left in the snow still fighting over the football on the last play.
Quote of the Episode: Ross looking at Rachel’s pretzel – “Hey where did you get that?” Rachel – “I went really long”
11. Grey’s Anatomy: “Thanks for the Memories” (Season 2, Episode 9)
Izzie wants to throw the perfect Thanksgiving dinner, but Meredith and Alex are avoiding the holiday at the hospital, Christina is on a desperate search for alcohol, and George is forced to go hunting with his family. Burke helps Izzie ‘save’ Thanksgiving, considering she has no idea how to cook.
Quote of the Episode: George – “Today I committed bird murder and I was forced to touch my dad’s ass. I get bonus points for showing up at all”
12. New Girl: “Parents” (Season 2, Episode 8)
Jess’s divorced mom (played by the fabulous Jamie Lee Curtis) and dad both come for Thanksgiving and Jess attempts to “Parent Trap” them. The Thanksgiving consists of Nick being forced to hit on Jess’s mom, Schmidt’s dad (played by the hilarious Rob Riggle) fighting to be the one true Schmidt, and some great roommate plotting.
Quote of the Episode: Jess’s Dad – “You know what I’m thankful for today? Divorce”
13. The Vampire Diaries: “Fade Into You” (Season 6, Episode 8)
Caroline and Elena plan to host “Friendsgiving” at their dorm. However, Alaric, Stefan, and Damon bail, as they are in Portland trying to track down and get more information on the Gemini coven. Throughout, there are flashbacks/cuts to 1994, where Kai and Bonnie are stuck and attempting to celebrate their own Thanksgiving. As Jo reveals more information about Kai and the coven, dinner takes a drastic turn.
Quote of the Episode: Caroline – “Just because I hate you doesn’t mean I want you to starve to death”
This Thanksgiving, eat your pie, count your blessings, and binge these fantastic holiday-themed episodes – you deserve it!
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