Thanksgiving is a rather interesting holiday. Putting its colonialist roots aside, it’s usually just a weekend of stressed-out people cooking for a big drunk group of family members who don’t usually spend that much time together. The way 2025 is going, though, your Thanksgiving holiday will look much different (and much safer, we hope). We still have lots of TV, and Thanksgiving TV episodes to run through, though!
There are a lot of traditional TV episodes that are almost as synonymous with the holiday as turkey and yelling at your racist uncle: the football game, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (which you can still watch for free, either via Apple TV+ or PBS), and even a dog show or two. But another tradition, and one that we believe is a hell of a lot more fun, is the selection of Turkey Day episodes of your favorite TV shows. It’s a staple of the old-school network family sitcom, but shows on premium cable or streaming platforms often take a crack at the subgenre too.
Thanksgiving episodes of your favorite TV shows are the best; the reality is most of us will, at some point during our (regular) family Thanksgiving weekend, want to rip our hair out due to spending so much time with our "loved" ones. There’s nothing better to do in those situations than watch another family, even a fictional one, be even more dysfunctional than your own. This kind of escapism is probably healthier than trying to win arguments with your parents or drink until you can’t remember everyone’s names, so you should definitely consider it.
This year? Your squad might be smaller, but that just means you'll have more time to lounge around and indulge in some of television’s best Thanksgiving specials.
Here are the best Thanksgiving TV specials to watch in 2025.
Succession: “I Went To Market”, Season 1, Episode 5
Everyone’s favorite toxic brood is gathering for another Thanksgiving. The Roys all decide to meet up at Connor’s ranch in New Mexico, and Connor is hoping for a nice, peaceful meal with his family, but as we all know, that simply isn’t in the cards for the Roys. Over the past few weeks, tensions have been growing within the family and at Waystar. Logan has grown increasingly distrusting and erratic with his decision-making, tightening his grip on his leadership, especially after he learns a long-time trusted ally on the board is secretly planning to have him removed as CEO. Being the conniving, backstabbing bunch that the rest of the Roy’s are, they see this as an opportunity to finally get rid of their father as the CEO and put themselves in positions of power. What started as an ideal Thanksgiving dinner dissolves into a chess game of deception and backstabbing as only The Roys know how.
The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air: “Talking Turkey”, Season 1, Episode 12
The carefree life of Will in Bel Air comes under fire on a particular Thanksgiving when his mother, Vy, comes to join the Banks family for dinner. Vy thinks that Will and the rest of the Banks kids are too spoiled with their lavish lifestyle, and decides this is the year to teach them some responsibility. Instead of enjoying their usual luxurious day and meal, Vy puts Will and the rest of the kids to task, cooking and cleaning for the holiday. Since the Banks' kids have never worked a day in their lives, and Will is…well…Will, chaos ensues in the kitchen and the household as they attempt to set a beautiful Thanksgiving table and cook a dinner, which of course doesn’t go well. Despite the dinner not being perfect, the family greatly appreciates the effort and time Will and his cousins put into the meal. Vy is proud of her boy, but also threatens to shake things up every holiday season.
The Real Ghostbusters: “The Revenge Of Murray The Mantis”, Season 2, Episode 52
New York and its citizens are preparing for the annual Thanksgiving parade, and one float will feature the famous TV mascot Murray the Mantis as a parade balloon. Unfortunately, and expectedly, since this is indeed the Ghostbusters, the balloon becomes possessed by a ghost and becomes a rampaging monster. It’s, of course, up to the Ghostbusters to save Thanksgiving from this horrifying giant bug. The team, due to the monster’s size, has trouble subduing the beast, so they hatch an alternative plan and turn to an old “friend”. This year’s parade just so happens to feature another giant balloon of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. They animate the balloon, and soon a kaiju-level battle ensues between two iconic mascots.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: “The Dressing”, Season 2, Episode 21
Master Shake, Meatwad, and Frylock are all gathering around for a Thanksgiving meal between roommates, but as things go in the Aqua Teen world, strange happenings will occur. The team is confronted by a robotic turkey from the future, Turkatron, who claims to be a prophet of sorts and tries to warn the Aqua Teens of an Apocalyptic future. Unfortunately, the prophecies change every time they are told and often make no sense. As Frylock tries to decipher what exactly Turkatron is saying, Meatwad sees him as a potential new friend and tries to include the robot in their holiday activities. Shake, of course, tries to use the supposed prophecies for his own personal gain and knowledge of the future. Much like the rest of the series, the episode is a fever dream and not much makes sense, but that’s what makes it all the more hilarious. Nothing is learned, destruction soon follows, all in a day’s work, as they say.
Boy Meets World: “Turkey Day”, Season 4, Episode 10
Best buds Corey and Shawn and their families decide to spend Thanksgiving together, but, as is the case with most Boy Meets World episodes, things don’t go exactly as hoped. Shawn and his family come from a lower-class income, and Corey’s family is more upper-middle-class, which leads to some awkward conversations and moments during the Thanksgiving meal. Boy Meets World has never been shy to tackle more grown-up topics, and this is no exception with its commentary on the class clash in America. Corey and Shawn try to keep their families from butting heads, but the differences in how they live their lives become really hard to ignore. Will this be the worst Thanksgiving ever? Or will the bond Corey and Shawn share save the evening and bring the families together?
Fresh Off the Boat: “Huangsgiving” Season 2 Episode 8
A funny, witty show about cultural differences like Fresh Off The Boat was always going to ace its Thanksgiving episode, since the holiday is so distinctly American and ripe for ironic commentary, but “Huangsgiving” is really better than it has any right to be. Beginning with an ominous yet traditional call from Jessica’s mother at 5:30 a.m., informing her that she will be hosting Thanksgiving this year instead of her sister Connie, the ensuing antics perfectly capture the haphazard and stressful reality of cooking Thanksgiving dinner for your entire family. It’s also got a dash of family drama, which anyone who has ever celebrated Thanksgiving can attest to being a true trademark of the holiday.
How I Met Your Mother: "Slapsgiving" Season 3, Episode 9
However you might feel about the show (let’s get it out of the way: the ending was messy and unsatisfying), there’s no denying that early episodes of How I Met Your Mother can be truly enjoyable, especially when they get a silly as “Slapsgiving.” There’s all of the required Robin and Ted drama (they’ve recently broken up at this point in the season and are awkwardly trying to remain friends), but the real joy of the episode is what the entire series did so well: the long, slightly complicated bets and payoffs the four main characters constantly get themselves into. In this one, it’s Marshall and Barney’s “slap bet,” and the hilariously tense moments that come from the mystery of when Marshall will deliver his final slap. It’s silly and lighthearted, which might be the perfect salve for your Thanksgiving woes.
Arrested Development: "Indian Takers" Season 4, Episode 3
The most recent, Netflix-produced fourth season of Arrested Development received mixed reviews, particularly from diehard fans who felt some of the show’s original charm had been lost in the seven years since it got abruptly cancelled. But “Indian Takers” still stands as one of the season’s best, if only because it’s the one in which television’s most disastrously dysfunctional family, the Fünkes, attempt a Thanksgiving meal. It’s not a Thanksgiving episode in the way the others on this list are—and they try to cook a duck, not a turkey—but it’s still classic Arrested Development, full of witty, laugh-out-loud inside jokes and dark humor.
Master of None: "Thanksgiving" Season 2, Episode 8
It goes without saying that this is one of Master of None’s strongest episodes—it won a freakin’ Emmy after all. It’s also a great Thanksgiving vignette because it manages to squeeze in all of the relevant aspects of the holiday: the family time, the fond memories you have of it as a kid, and the more recent, less fond memories of what spending too much time with your family actually feels like as an adult. But the episode’s true value is that it’s one of the most touching half-hours ever dedicated to the nuances and struggles of Black, queer life on television. It focuses on Denise (played brilliantly by Lena Waithe), her memories of Thanksgiving, and how her mom and aunt’s complicated feelings about her sexuality as it relates to their race.
Everybody Hates Chris: “Everybody Hates Thanksgiving” Season 2, Episode 8
In an effort to take the pressure off herself, Chris' mother asks each family member to make one dish for Thanksgiving dinner. All seems like it's going to be fine until they realize no one put the turkey in the oven.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “The Gang Squashes Their Beefs” Season 9, Episode 10
This is the perfect episode for a diehard Sunny fan mostly because it’s kind of a compilation of the most on-brand Sunny moments and guest characters, but there’s a Thanksgiving food fight in there too. The basic premise is that Mac, Dennis, Charlie, Dee and Frank eventually realize they can’t enjoy some of their favorite things like hoagies or the director’s cut of Thunder Gun Express because they just have “too many beefs all over town” and, as Dennis puts it, “it’s jamming us up.” The episode plays out like a competition wherein the viewer has to guess just which horrible thing the gang did to a whole list of fan-favorite guest characters from the show as they try to win them over by cooking them a Thanksgiving feast. It’s got some great visual gags—Charlie cooks only beef and squash, Mac brings dirt and a hatchet, Dee wipes a slate clean—but the best part is just the revisiting of all the things that make Sunny what it is.
Seinfeld: “The Mom & Pop Store” Season 6, Episode 8
Everything that can go wrong goes wrong on Seinfeld and this episode is no exception. Jon Voight bites Kramer, Jerry ruins the Woody Woodpecker Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon, and Elaine temporarily loses her hearing. And all that happens the day before Thanksgiving. You can only imagine what the day of was like.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: “There's The Rub: Parts 1 and 2” Season 6, Episodes 9 and 10
Uncle Phil and Will end up in jail. If that doesn't serve up enough intrigue, I don't know what will. Everyone starts out with good intentions, but this two-part episode turns into a comedy of errors.
Friends: “The One with the Rumor” Season 8, Episode 9
It's hard to pick only one out of the 10 "Friendsgivings," but the episode is better known as the “The One with Brad Pitt” is a must-see. Will Colbert, played by Pitt, Jennifer Aniston's then-husband, is an old high school friend of Ross joining the crew for the holiday meal who ends up being the co-founder of the I Hate Rachel Green Club. Oh, and Joey eats an entire turkey by himself in Phoebe's festive maternity pants.
Orange Is the New Black: “Fucksgiving” Season 1, Episode 9
The Thanksgiving episode of Orange Is The New Black’s first season was a particularly strong one in a particularly strong season, but at least part of that is because the very concept of the holiday highlights just how hard prison life is. It’s an episode marked by Piper’s growing loneliness and need for affection, juxtaposed with her growing attraction to and flirtations with Alex, which end up with Piper in solitary. But the best parts of this show were always all the other storylines besides Piper’s, and the episode also delivers on that front. It highlights Taystee’s apprehensions about leaving and entering the real world when she knows she has no skills and has spent most of her life in prison. It keeps up one of the running thread throughout the entire show, drugs in the prison, and Red’s attempts to keep the girls she has maternal affection for clean. It’s got Taystee and Poussey dancing together, solidifying the fact that those are two of the best two characters ever created. It’s classic Orange Is The New Black, and it’s worth a re-watch.