Fill Your TV Plate with These 14 Tasty Thanksgiving Episodes (2024)

When it comes to Thanksgiving episodes of your favorite television shows, there’s a lot to be thankful for: sentimental story lines, introductions to new family members (aka guest stars!) and, of course, food p*rn. So if you’re looking for a watch list to get you in the holiday spirit — or play in the background as you’re cooking, baking, cleaning, eating or avoiding small talk with that problematic uncle — allow us to provide.

Gathered here are 14 Thanksgiving episodes available to stream right now. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll get very, very hungry. And if you don’t quite make it through every single entry on this list before the night ends and/or the meat sweats set in, no worries. These pair really well with leftovers.

Big Mouth

Season 5, Episode 5: “Thanksgiving”

Most families have at least one questionable holiday tradition, and for Andrew (John Mulaney), it’s his dad’s (Richard Kind) turkey prep. For generations, the Glouberman patriarchs have basted their Thanksgiving meals while also verbally abusing them, because insults “keep the juices inside.” But after some sage wisdom from an unexpected friend (Gil Ozeri), Andrew learns there might be more to the tradition than moist meat.

Meanwhile, Jessi (Jessi Klein) is spending the night with her mom and dad (Jessica Chaffin and Seth Morris), who have separated but are suddenly getting along really well. Should Jessi, her Hormone Monster Connie (Maya Rudolph) and her Lovebug Sonya (Pamela Adlon) hold out hope that her parents will get back together?

Finally, Missy (Ayo Edebiri) and her Hormone Monster Mona (Thandiwe Newton) are excited about Missy’s cool cousins, Quinta (Quinta Brunson) and Lena (Lena Waithe), visiting from “Hotlanta.” Determined to convince them she’s not a dork, Missy smokes weed for the first time. And speaking of hallucinogenic-like entities, Gratitoad (the perpetually positive talking toad played by Zach Galifianakis) makes an appearance! Because “Well, sure! It’s Thanksgiving!”

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Part 1, Episode 7: “Chapter Seven: Feast of Feasts”

On a walk home, teenage witch Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) assures her boyfriend Harvey (Ross Lynch) that Thanksgiving’s not really a big deal for her and her aunties: She and Aunt Hilda (Lucy Davis) enjoy the parade in the morning and then turn the TV over to Aunt Zelda (Miranda Otto) for football. (Unsurprisingly, Aunt Z loves all contact sports.) However, their conversation is abruptly interrupted when Sabrina sees lamb entrails nailed to her front door and ushers Harvey away before he can notice.

Apparently, this bloody surprise means that the Spellmans have been selected to participate in the Feast of Feasts, one of their coven’s holiest holidays. But instead of turkey on the menu, it’s human flesh — as one witch will be chosen by the Dark Lord to be eaten by the rest of the participants as a ritual sacrifice. Yikes. Let’s hope a Spellman doesn’t get picked, hmm?

At mortal school, Ms. Wardwell (Michelle Gomez) assigns the class to dig into their family histories, resulting in some meaningful, but not always pleasant, discoveries for Harvey, Susie (Lachlan Watson) and Roz (Jaz Sinclair).

Community

Season 4, Episode 5: “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations”

He’s not exactly the family type, but Jeff (Joel McHale) commits to spending Thanksgiving with his estranged father, played by James Brolin. Since Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and her Greendale psychology training deserve some credit for Jeff’s decision, she joins them. Together, they meet William (Brolin) and a hilarious Adam Devine as Jeff’s half-brother, Willy Jr. Britta distracts a jealous Willy Jr. with some role-play (using actual dinner rolls) while Jeff and his pops get to know each other.

Meanwhile, Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) invites the rest of the study group — Pierce (Chevy Chase), Abed (Danny Pudi), Troy (Donald Glover) and Annie (Alison Brie) — to a Thanksgiving dinner with her rude and judgmental in-laws, the Bennetts. The friends quickly realize they’ve been imprisoned in a very awkward situation and retreat to the garage to plot their escape: a bust-out of “Bennett lockup” à laThe Shawshank Redemption.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Season 1, Episode 6: “My First Thanksgiving with Josh!”

Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) can’t stop thinking about Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) and his confession that he’s “very attracted” to her. Even though his girlfriend, Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz), is still very much in the picture, Rebecca gets an invite to the Chan family Thanksgiving thanks to some Machiavellian scheming from her work bestie, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin). Apparently, it’s known throughout West Covina that the Chans aren’t big Valencia fans, so Rebecca sets out to impress Josh’s family and convince them (and him) that she’s better girlfriend material. Paula watches the whole thing play out on her iPhone courtesy of Rebecca’s secret brooch cam.

Greg (Santino Fontana) announces he’s finally moving out of his dad’s place, quitting work at the bar and going back to business school. But his father’s failing health might change those ideas. Who will stay together and who will move on? Watch to find out... and be treated to two all-time favorites from theCrazy Ex-Girlfrienddiscography: rap number “I Give Good Parent” and Billy Joel-esque ballad “What’ll It Be? (Hey, West Covina).”

Fuller House

Season 2, Episode 6: “A Fuller Thanksgiving”

There’s definitely a Thanksgiving pun lurking somewhere around this title. And it’s about to be an evenfuller Fuller House, because just as you’d hope, the originalFull House cast returns for an epic holiday reunion featuring Danny (Bob Saget), Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), Uncle Joey (Dave Coulier), Aunt Becky (Lori Loughlin), twins Nicky and Alex (Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit) and Steve (Scott Weinger). But with 23 family members in one space, DJ’s hopes of hosting the perfect Thanksgiving (“Which takes macro-thinking, micromanaging and a little microwaving!”) are in jeopardy. So she, Steph (Jodie Sweetin) and Kimmy (Andrea Barber) join forces as the “she-turkey pack” to strategically keep everyone happy and as close to DJ’s meticulously detailed schedule as possible. They’ve even got a group turkey call thing going on. Get ready to laugh and aww — and maybe even tear up a little when DJ and Danny have a touching father-daughter moment. In any case, you’ll finish this viewing with your heart a little fuller.

Gilmore Girls

Season 3, Episode 9: “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”

Four Thanksgivings are better than one. Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham) find themselves quadruple booked to eat with Lane (Keiko Agena), Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) and Luke (Scott Patterson) before ending the night at a formal dinner party with Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop). How will this mother-daughter duo get through four full-course Thanksgiving meals? They’ll cut the rolls. In non-food related news, Rory is nervous about PDA-ing with new beau Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) since the townspeople of Stars Hollow knew her as Dean’s (Jared Padalecki) girlfriend for so long. And speaking of romance, Lane and bandmate Dave Rygalski (Adam Brody) have caught feelings for each other, so they hatch a stealthy scheme — faking his identity to win over her impossible-to-please mother by having Dave play hymns at Lane’s Korean family’s Thanksgiving dinner... for five hours with no break.

At the Bellevilles’, Sookie regrets her decision to let Jackson (Jackson Douglas) cook the turkey this year when she learns he wants to deep-fry it along with everything else in their fridge. And there’s a fun subplot about Kirk and his new cat, also named Kirk, who seems to really hate human Kirk. Hey, families are complicated.

Grey’s Anatomy

Season 2, Episode 9: “Thanks for the Memories”

Izzie (Katherine Heigl) wakes up with plans to prepare a big Thanksgiving meal at Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo), but finds herself all alone without a clue how to cook anything. Meredith escapes to the hospital, Alex (Justin Chambers) ignores Izzie’s calls and George (T.R. Knight) heads out to turkey hunt with his dad and brothers. Thankfully, Cristina (Sandra Oh) and Burke (Isaiah Washington) show up early and he knows his way around the kitchen.

At the hospital, Miranda (Chandra Wilson) deals with a narcissistic doctor, Richard (James Pickens Jr.) refuses to go home and hang with his wife’s annoying sister and Meredith helps wake up a patient who’s been in a vegetative state for 16 years. (And if you want to add moreGrey’sto your Thanksgiving episodes lineup, allow us to prescribe the Season 6, Episode 10: “Holidaze”; Season 10, Episode 10: “Somebody That I Used to Know”; and Season 11, Episode 22: “She’s Leaving Home.”)

Jane the Virgin

Season 2, Episode 6: “Chapter Twenty-Eight”

In the final minutes, we do see the Villanuevas and guests gather around the table to celebrate baby Mateo’s first Thanksgiving. But the rest of the episode spans months and covers milestones for all of our characters. First up, Jane (Gina Rodriguez) has enrolled in a demanding grad school program, and her professor (Adam Chavez) has no sympathy for the sleep-deprived, responsibility-laden mom of a newborn. Even with support from Jane’s own mom, Xo (Andrea Navedo), and abuela, Alba (Ivonne Coll), times are tough.

Petra (Yael Grobglas) — in a very Thanksgiving-appropriate move — uses a turkey baster to inseminate herself with Rafael’s (Justin Baldoni) twins. So she’s throwing up all the time, in addition to orchestrating her mother Magda’s (Priscilla Barnes) release from prison and getting rid of 2,000 grenades from her sketchy new husband, Miloš (Max Bird-Ridnell).

Rogelio (Jaime Camil) has wrapped his telenovela and is looking for his next big project, taking a littletoomuch inspiration from an already successful television show on a different network. And finally, after seemingly ruining his chances with Jane forever, Michael (Brett Dier) sets off to track down the evil Sin Rostro once and for all.

Master of None

Season 2, Episode 8: “Thanksgiving”

As told through a series of Thanksgivings from the early ’90s to present, this Emmy-winning episode follows Denise (Lena Waithe) as she comes to terms with her identity and sexuality, and then shares it with her friends, namely Dev (Aziz Ansari), and family. There’s incredible set design, costumes, food styling and performances across the board from Waithe, Ansari, Angela Bassett (Denise’s mom, Catherine), Kym Whitley (Aunt Joyce) and Venida Evans (Denise’s grandmother, Ernestine). Equal parts laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly raw, the half hour explores multilayered nuances of family as well as religious and racial dynamics under Catherine’s roof and in the wider world. If you only watch one episode on this entire list, make it this one.

Nailed It! Holiday!

Season 1, Episode 4: “It’s a Family A-fail”

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without some high stakes drama in the kitchen, right? In the case ofNailed It! (the baking show for people who can’t bake), those stakes are $10,000. That grand prize will be awarded to the amateur baker who most impresses host Nicole Byer and her fellow judges, chefs Jacques Torres and Gemma Stafford. This episode’s theme is the celebration of holiday family time, so for the grand finale — a ginormous turkey cake complete with cake stuffing, fondant veggies and cake ball Brussels sprouts — our three contestants actually pull their kin into the kitchen with them for a helping hand. (“Let’s all act surprised like you had no idea that this was happening!” Byer commands.) The pizza parlor manager and ultra-competitiveNailed It!super fan Elleni picks her mom. Marketing coordinator Matthew brings his own mama and a handheld fan to keep them both cool under pressure. And sugar-loving Angie, a great grandmother and nurse manager assistant, chooses her youngest daughter. If you’ve ever wanted to laugh out loud watching someone make rice crispy treats or hear a grown man gobble, this is about to be your best Thanksgiving ever.

Orange Is the New Black

Season 1, Episode 9: “F*cksgiving”

It’s Thanksgiving at Litchfield Penitentiary. At the top of the episode, Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) is helping out Red (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew in the kitchen, while Piper (Taylor Schilling) gets her hair done by Sophia (Laverne Cox) in preparation for a visit from Larry (Jason Biggs). The inmates are throwing Taystee (Danielle Brooks) a release party when dancing breaks out and things get sexy between Piper and Alex (Laura Prepon). Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) still has it out for Alex and rats them out for their salacious dance moves, so Piper ends up in solitary confinement with no visitation rights and nothing but a piece of moldy bologna for Thanksgiving dinner.

Not everyone is alone on the holiday, though. Suzanne (Uzo Aduba) meets with her seemingly adoptive parents, while Sophia talks to her wife, Crystal (Tanya Wright), about a new pastor at their church who Crystal is interested in dating.

We won’t give anything else away, but we warn that you might want to save this one until after you eat and as far away from gravy as possible…

See Also

The Truth About Thanksgiving Is that the Debunkers Are Wrong

Seinfeld

Season 6, Episode 8: “The Mom & Pop Store”

The show famously about nothing packs quite a few holiday touchstones into this 1994 episode. Among them: the Thanksgiving Day parade, a Thanksgiving Eve party, and a lack of clarity on whether you’re invited to said gathering. (“Was it, ‘Why would Jerry bring anything?’ Or, ‘Why would Jerry bring anything?’ ”)

The party in question is being thrown by Jerry’s (Jerry Seinfeld) dentist, Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston, in his first of multiple appearances on the show), at his Upper West Side apartment. Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Kramer (Michael Richards), and George (Jason Alexander) are all invited, but Jerry isn’t sure if he is or isn’t. He decides to crash the party anyway when he can’t find a dentist to see him for a toothache so close to Thanksgiving.

Elsewhere in the episode, Kramer tries to support a local shoe repair shop by giving them all of Jerry’s sneakers to clean, George wants to verify if the car he just purchased used to belong to a celebrity, and Elaine wins her boss a spot carrying the parade’s Woody Woodpecker balloon — but the loud music she sits through while picking up the ticket temporarily damages her hearing and makes her misunderstand something Tim asks her… which is almost as tragic as what Jerry accidentally does to the Woody balloon.

Ugly Delicious

Season 1, Episode 3: “Home Cooking”

This documentary series follows star chef David Chang as he explores the history and flavors of delectable dishes from around the world, and “Home Cooking” gives the concept a home-cooked twist. Chang and other famous chefs reflect on their favorite family recipes and their most powerful childhood memories of food. They also make a case that many people nowadays are craving nostalgic home cooking, even when they go out to restaurants. Finally, we get to join Chang at a huge Thanksgiving dinner with his entire family, plus special guest Peter Meehan (New York Times food critic turned Chang’s close friend, and co-author of his Momof*cku Noodle Bar cookbook). Chang’s mom has the Korean food covered, while he takes on “the white people food,” and you’ll want to eat every bit of it.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Season 2, Episode 13: “Kimmy Finds Her Mom!”

Thanksgiving is for bringing people together, so Kimmy aptly decides to take a road trip and reunite with her mom — a roller coaster obsessive named Lori-Ann (Lisa Kudrow). Lori-Ann’s latest stop is Universal Studios, where upon arrival Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is immediately confused for a character and ambushed by a bunch of kids and their paparazzi parents. On the way to Orlando, she drops Titus (Tituss Burgess) off in Miami for a cruise gig, but he chickens out and boards a bus to the aptly-named Titusville, Florida instead. Lillian (Carol Kane) is left at home to miss them.

On the Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) front, she’s fallen hard for businessman Russ (David Cross). But at Thanksgiving dinner, she learns that his family owns the football team formerly known as The Redskins, and being Native American herself, gives him a piece of her mind on how offensive the team name is. Fortunately, she and Russ are in total agreement —so instead of breaking up, they come together and devise a plan to take down his bullying family and change the name for good.

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