What’s not to love about Thanksgiving…the crisp fall breeze and the crunch the leaves make beneath your feet, clutching a festive red Starbucks cup and coming home to the smell of homemade pie wafting through the kitchen?! Okay, even if these clichés don’t sum up your Thanksgiving experience to a tee, there is one thing we can all agree on: there is nothing better than Thanksgiving episodes of your favorite shows. Here’s a countdown of our favorite Thanksgiving-themed episodes to binge on after the tryptophan hits you hard.
FRIENDS
Season Three, “The One with the Football”
This episode showcases the notorious Geller sibling rivalry when the gang plays a game of football with opposing teams led by Monica and Ross in competition for the Geller cup. Other highlights include a power struggle for the attention of a beautiful struggle between Chandler and Joey and Rachel’s newfound independence.
Season Four, “The One with Chandler in a Box”
The gang settles in for a nice Thanksgiving Dinner, but one seat is empty: Chandler’s; that’s because he is atoning for kissing Joey’s girlfriend at the time, Kathy. Hilarity ensues when he tries to communicate with the gang through the barriers of his box to no avail. Additionally, Monica invited her older ex-boyfriend’s son to join them for the meal, can you say awkward…?
Season Five, “The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks”
By season five, we know each of the character’s backstories more fully, so this trip down memory lane provides a welcome laugh when each character recounts their worst Thanksgiving. Phoebe’s outlandish memories of Thanksgivings in her believed previous lives are quite frankly hysterical. Joey’s turkey hat is one of the show’s most memorable moments and Chandler and Monica’s interactions are incredibly entertaining.
Season Eight, “The One with the Rumor”
A personal favorite. Monica invites an old friend from high school to Thanksgiving dinner and he informs the gang about the club he and Ross started in high school entitled, “We Hate Rachel Green.” This is ironic and hysterical because as we know at this point, Rachel is pregnant and Ross is the father. Also, the guest star is Brad Pitt. Enough said.
Season Ten, “The One with the Late Thanksgiving”
As with every episode in the last season, there was an underlying sense of nostalgia present for the gang’s final Thanksgiving together as they get older and the show comes to an end. Rachel and Phoebe self-deprecatingly put Emma (Rachel’s daughter) in a baby pageant and Joey and Ross take their time at a hockey game. Monica gets so mad at these four she decides to cancel dinner but changes her mood when her and Chandler receive the wonderful news from an adoption agency: they will be parents! I couldn’t think of a better way to see this group of friends who we have grown to love celebrate their last Thanksgiving in the purple apartment.
GOSSIP GIRL
Season One, “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!”
For Gossip Girl fans, we know the original Thanksgiving episode will always be our favorite. Blair’s anger at her mother and disappointment in her father encourage her to seek solace in our all-time-favorite character, Dorota. Blair’s emotional upset in addition to flashbacks of Serena’s spiral of misbehavior show us the deeper and darker sides of our favorite it-girl characters as they face the oh-so-difficult drama of their charmed sixteen-year-old lives.
Season Two, “The Magnificent Archibalds”
Vanessa causes drama, Mr. Archibald finally gets what has been coming his way, and Cyrus infuriates Blair. Lily takes it upon herself to solve the conflict between feuding father and daughter duo Rufus and Jenny, and Dan recounts his sweet, albeit slightly stalker-ish, account of Serena over the years as he has continued to fall in love with her. This is one of the juiciest Gossip Girl episodes in the show’s six season run.
THE O.C.
Season One, “The Homecoming”
Although the O.C. is known primarily for the miraculous mixed holiday of Chrismukkah, celebrated in the Cohen household, they do a pretty good job of giving Thanks as well. Ryan ventures back to his old roots in Chino with his new girlfriend Marissa, beginning the complicated relationship between Chino and Newport continued throughout the show. Additionally, our favorite nerdy crush Seth must choose between two amazing girls. Sandy and Kirsten are up to some match-making of their own in a landmark episode in the show’s first season. Over the top exaggerations of family drama, riches, and love interests are on full display in Newport on Thanksgiving. Watch and enjoy.
Season Four, “The Cold Turkey”
Kaitlin Cooper comes to save the day when the show starts to go downhill, causing major hijinks at the Cohen family Thanksgiving. The highlight of this episode, though, is Julie and Ryan’s intimate moment gaining some serious closure about Marissa’s untimely death.
Bonus: HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
The Slaps-giving Saga… need I say more?