15 Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes to Watch TV for Grownups
De-stress With These 15 Hilarious TV Sitcom Thanksgiving Episodes
From ' Make Room for Daddy ' to ' Will & Grace ' here s your happy place for the holidays
NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images; Courtesy Everett Collection George Wendt (left) as Norm Peterson in "Cheers" and Florence Henderson and Robert Reed as Carol and Mike Brady in "The Brady Bunch." Thanksgiving is a busy time, from lists and shopping to prep, cooking and sometimes even hosting! You deserve a break today, so we’ve rounded up 15 laugh-out-loud Thanksgiving episodes from your favorite sitcoms to give you a much-deserved chuckle or straight out guffaw (and help you realize that maybe your holiday drama is nothing compared with these folks). We’ve even paired them with a classic Thanksgiving dish. Whether it’s streaming a few here and there or a full-out marathon on Turkey Day (after the Macy’s Day Parade and , of course), enjoy this hilarious lineup of our favorite sitcom Thanksgiving episodes. CBS via Getty Images Make Room for Daddy
The episode: “Thanksgiving Story” (1953) The plot: You might know this throwback sitcom from its second name, The Danny Thomas Show, which it debuted in its fourth season, but chances are you haven't seen this holiday episode in a while (if at all). That's because the first three seasons haven't been shown in syndication since the 1960s! In this episode, Danny has to miss Thanksgiving dinner because he's doing a benefit show in Boston. To cure the homesickness, he heads to the history museum, where he's the sole visitor on a guided tour of a pilgrim exhibit — but luckily his family has a sweet surprise for him back at the hotel. The dish: Tabbouleh, to honor Thomas's Lebanese American upbringing; remember, his birth name was Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz. Watch it: Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Bewitched
The episode: “Samantha's Thanksgiving to Remember” (1967) The plot: A nostalgic Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) casts a spell that accidentally transports herself, the Stephens family, and nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Sandra Gould) back to 1620s Plymouth. Though Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) manages to zap them into period-appropriate attire, Darrin (Dick York) gets accused of witchcraft when he lights a match—those wouldn't be invented for another 185 years! The dish: A cloth bag filled with pudding, the dessert that gets Darrin in trouble when he starts a fire to boil it. Watch it: Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images That Girl
The episode: “Thanksgiving Comes but Once a Year, Hopefully” (1967) The plot: There are mishaps aplenty when Ann Marie () tries to prepare the favorite dishes of both her parents and her future in-laws. She cooks in two separate apartments and accidentally stuffs her oyster goose stuffing in the turkey and her chestnut turkey stuffing in the goose. Look out for a surprisingly ahead-of-its-time joke, when the mailman mistakes an envelope of dried marjoram for something more illicit. The dish: A frozen-solid mince pie — Ann has to make vents in the crust with a hammer and screwdriver. Watch it: Join today and save 25% off the standard annual rate. Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life. The Bob Newhart Show
The episode: “Over the River and Through the Woods” (1975) The plot: After ducking out of a trip to Seattle with his wife, Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), Bob (Bob Newhart) invites his friends over for a bachelor Thanksgiving to watch the William & Mary college football match. A drinking game — and a jug of vodka and apple cider — leaves the gang absolutely sloshed, and with only a sad small turkey between them, Bob decides to call for Chinese takeout. Spoiler: Slurred speech and Cantonese words don't mix. The dish: Moo goo gai pan, Bob's order of choice. Watch it: Courtesy Everett Collection The Brady Bunch
The episode: “The Un-Underground Movie” (1975) The plot: Greg (Barry Williams) casts his family in a student film about the first Thanksgiving — and the Bradys have lots of opinions. Carol (Florence Henderson) wants to dress her daughters in period-inappropriate colorful Pilgrim costumes, Alice (Ann B. Davis) has script notes, and Peter (Christopher Knight) and Bobby (Mike Lookinland) are mad they can't play Native Americans. They argue. They make up. The film is a roaring success. The dish: Instant mashed potatoes, which Greg uses (alongside spray-painted corn flakes) as snow in his “hard winter scene.” Watch it: WKRP in Cincinnati
The episode: “Turkeys Away” (1978) The plot: Widely considered one of the most uproarious sitcom episodes of all time, “Turkeys Away” sees Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump) concocting a publicity stunt for the station that involves dropping 20 live turkeys from a helicopter above a mall parking lot. The audience never sees the disastrous results, only experiencing it through the horrified reactions of reporter Les Nessman (Richard Sanders): “Oh, the humanity! People are running about. The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!” Carlson later admits: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” The dish: Turkey meat loaf or soup or chili — or any recipe that can accommodate some slightly damaged poultry. Watch it: Family Ties
The episode: “No Nukes Is Good Nukes” (1982) The plot: Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) put meal prepping on hold to attend an antinuclear rally. But when trouble breaks out, they end up spending the holiday behind bars. When they refuse to sign a statement saying they won't protest again, the cavalry — Alex (), Mallory (Justine Bateman), Jennifer (Tina Yothers), and Elyse's parents — arrives with picnic baskets of turkey in tow. The dish: Stuffing with bean sprouts, a new recipe that ex-hippie Elyse is trying out before she gets locked up. Watch it: Cheers
The episode: “Thanksgiving Orphans” (1986) The plot: Sometimes you want to go to a holiday potluck where everybody knows your name. For a variety of reasons, the Cheers staff and regulars find themselves celebrating Thanksgiving dinner away from family and together at Carla's (Rhea Perlman) house. Norm (George Wendt) shows up with a raw turkey, Diane (Shelley Long) dresses as a pilgrim, and rising tensions end in a massive food fight. The dish: Carla's peas, which are the first shot fired by Norm in the culinary battle. Watch it: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Full House
The episode: “The Miracle of Thanksgiving” (1987) The plot: The Tanners’ first Thanksgiving without their late mother, Pam, is unsurprisingly poignant, but it's still packed with a full smorgasbord of laughs: Uncle Joey (Dave Coulier) gets his tongue stuck in a bottle that then gets stuck in a chair, Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) cooks in a leather vest, and the turkey goes from frozen solid to charcoal-crisp burnt in a matter of minutes. The dish: The “picture-perfect pumpkin pie” that Stephanie drops on the floor. Watch it: “The Miracle of Thanksgiving,” on , , , NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images A Different World
The episode: “If You Like Pilgrim Coladas” (1988) The plot: When the rest of their classmates leave campus for the holidays, Kim (Charnele Brown) and Whitley (Jasmine Guy) pull out their fake IDs and head to a club to drown their homesickness. After knocking back two of the drink specials that give the episode its name, Whitley ends up drunk — or is she? — and singing “Twist and Shout” on the bar, before she's caught by one of their professors, Col. Taylor (Glynn Turman). The dish: The Pilgrim Colada, which it turns out is actually alcohol-free and from the kiddie menu! Watch it: The Simpsons
The episode: “Bart vs. Thanksgiving” (1990) The plot: Early critics of The Simpsons (including President Bush) saw the yellow bunch as the downfall of American wholesomeness — but skeptics missed out on sweet episodes like this Thanksgiving classic. After destroying Lisa's elaborate centerpiece, Bart runs away from home with his dog, Santa's Little Helper, and learns a powerful lesson when he stops inside a soup kitchen. The dish: Swedish meatballs and trout amandine, which Patty and Selma bring to dinner because they think their sister Marge's turkey is dry. Watch it: Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images The Wonder Years
The episode: "The Ties That Bind” (1990) The plot: Perfectly capturing the wistfully bittersweet tone that generations of fans love about this show, the Thanksgiving outing starts with the family's stove breaking. Jack (Dan Lauria) asks for a raise to buy a new one, but it comes with a catch: a promotion that means he'll have to travel before the holidays. Will he make it home in time to carve the turkey? The dish: “A turkey the size of a Buick,” as an adult Kevin (Daniel Stern) describes the family dinner in his narration. Watch it: Seinfeld
The episode: “The Mom and Pop Store” (1994) The plot: In this particularly zany episode, George (Jason Alexander) buys a car that may have been owned by Jon Voight; Kramer (Michael Richards) takes all of Jerry's sneakers to a mom-and-pop repair store; Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) wins her boss a ticket to hold a rope on the Woody Woodpecker balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) chips his tooth while running in boots. The dish: A bowl of nuts. A temporarily deaf Elaine — it's a long story — rejects a date with her crush, Tim Whatley (), because she thinks he's just offering her nuts. Watch it: Will & Grace
The episode: “Homo for the Holidays” (1999) The plot: When Will (Eric McCormack) invites Jack's mother, Judith (played by Veronica Cartwright), over for Thanksgiving dinner, the gang is shocked to learn that Jack (Sean Hayes) has never officially come out to her. Judith ends up revealing a secret of her own: Jack's real father is a one-night stand she met at a party. The heartwarming but hilarious episode won Hayes a supporting actor Emmy and was ranked number 74 on TV Guide's “100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time” list in 2009. The dish: Any kind of casserole to honor Judith, who quips, “Hot dish coming through — and she's carrying a casserole.” Watch it: Friends
The episode: "The One With the Rumor” (2001) The plot: You could make an entire watch list solely out of the 10 Friends-giving episodes, which include such classic moments as Rachel's beef-filled trifle (Season 6) and Monica with a turkey on her head (Season 5). But Thanksgiving meals live or die by who's around the table, and Season 8 features a doozy of a dinner guest: Brad Pitt, as an old classmate and founder of the “I Hate Rachel Green Club.” Elsewhere, when Monica (Courteney Cox) tells the group she's not cooking a turkey this year because half of them won't eat it, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) protests and agrees to eat the whole 19-pounder himself, which leads to him getting “meat sweats.” The dish: Potato chips, which Joey uses to warm up his stomach before the poultry marathon. Watch it: Nicholas DeRenzo is a contributing writer who covers entertainment and travel. Previously he was executive editor of United Airlines’ Hemispheres magazine and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Sunset and New York magazine. Editor's note: This article was originally published on Nov. 3, 2020. It has been updated with current links where you can stream the shows on this list. More on Entertainment
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