The best Thanksgiving-themed TV series episodes

Written By Tia Bailey

The holidays are here, and while everyone is already preparing for the December festivities, there is still Thanksgiving to think about. Thanksgiving tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to songs or movies, but what it does have is some killer TV episodes. Sitcoms and dramas alike have Thanksgiving episodes, and in some cases, they are some of the best of the show. 

 

Friends: “Friends” is a show from the 90s about six friends living in New York City. People tend to have mixed feelings about the show, but their Thanksgiving episodes are some of the best from the show. The show has nine total, and all are very entertaining. “The One With the Football,” “The One With the Rumor,” “The One With the List,” “The One With Rachel’s Other Sister,” “The One With the Late Thanksgiving,” “The One Where Ross Got High,” “The One With All the Thanksgivings,” “The One Where the Underdog Gets Away” and “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs” are all Thanksgiving episodes. 

 

New Girl: The show “New Girl” is very underrated compared to other sitcoms. It follows Jess Day as she moves into an apartment with four guys she met on the internet. One of the show’s earliest episodes, “Thanksgiving,” is about Jess inviting her colleague, who she has a crush on, to her and her roommates’ Thanksgiving dinner. Things go wrong in the funniest ways, and the whole episode is crazy. 

 

The Office: “The Office” is one of the most popular U.S. sitcoms out there. This Thanksgiving episode, “WUPHF.com,” is anything but ordinary. Ryan, the sleazy former intern at Dunder Mifflin, decides to start his own company, and gets his coworkers to invest. Meanwhile, Dwight Shrute really gets into the Thanksgiving spirit in his own way—by creating a hay festival in the parking lot of the office. 

 

That 70’s Show: Another underrated sitcom with an episode titled “Thanksgiving,” “That 70’s Show” follows Eric Forman and his friends as they navigate through their teen years in the 70’s. In the Thanksgiving episode, Eric’s sister Laurie brings home a college friend who all the boys think is hot, and problems arise. 

 

This is Us: The NBC drama is an emotional rollercoaster, and the Thanksgiving episode “Pilgrim Rick” is no exception to that. The episode gives audiences a look into the origin of the Pearson’s Thanksgiving traditions, and like most of the traditions, it was born from Jack making the most of an otherwise unideal situation. 

 

There is so much Thanksgiving-themed content here, so for anyone not quite ready for December yet, there are still options out there. Go on and appreciate Thanksgiving while it lasts.