Top 15 Thanksgiving Movies and TV Episodes to Watch
Some entertainment fans put as much thought into their Thanksgiving-related viewing as they do their holiday meals.
The morning parade aperitif is followed by a football treat.
Others are simply counting down the minutes until it’s socially acceptable to watch “Love Actually,” “Die Hard” or another Christmas classic.
That’s partly because there aren’t as many big movies or TV episodes dealing with Thanksgiving as there are with its December counterpart with a better marketing team. Sure, you could argue that “Rocky” qualifies – for example – since it includes a holiday dinner from hell, but Thanksgiving is just a distant memory when Rocky and Apollo fight on Christmas Day. Year.
It’s also because some people haven’t done the work necessary to seek out gems that viewers might enjoy leading up to and during Thanksgiving in the world of film and television — basically, anything that’s streaming. Those who have done it know that most of the best were on a smaller screen.
Here are our top 15 picks for Thanksgiving movies and episodes and where you can find them:
15. “Home for the holidays”
Broadcast on Paramount+
Talking Turkey: What it lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in the type of family melodrama that makes many want to skip the festivities. The supporting cast is loaded and Holly Hunter is terrific as usual. But unless you really want a holiday-themed movie starring her, try “Broadcast News” or “Raising Arizona” instead.
14. “M*A*S*H”
Season 8, Episode 10: “The Brick Road to Yalu”
Streaming on Hulu
The Talking Turkey: A few members of my family once ate bad turkey during a stop we had to make before our final destination; I succeeded and avoided food poisoning. The only ones to escape at 4077th missed the salmonella-infected bird from Klinger. Laugh a little with this one and be warned.
13. “The Last Waltz”
Streaming on Tubi and Freevee
Talking turkey: What does this Martin Scorsese-directed documentary about The Band have to do with Thanksgiving? Besides music lovers’ gratitude for the most amazing lineup of special appearances ever, the show in San Francisco took place on Thanksgiving after the crowd of 5,000 had been served a turkey dinner. Maybe try “The Weight” YouTube appetizer and see if you can resist the full meal.
12. “Inheritance”
Season 1, Episode 5: “I Went to the Market”
Streaming on Max
Talk about turkey: hindsight makes this first episode richer than it once seemed. So much was about to happen in the world of Waystar Royco, and it lays the groundwork for a lot of things. Logan Roy was clearly depressed while playing the episode’s main game — and the post-holiday dinner — but he was far from absent.
11. “Women’s Perfume”
Streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV+
Let’s Talk Turkey: Follow your family meal with a debate about how this was Al Pacino’s only Oscar win when he had so many more deserving roles (start with Corleone, Michael and work from there). Or maybe just enjoy the way his Lt. Col. Frank Slade dances his way through a tango and a Ferrari but offends the rest of the world. A better version of the mentor-mentee bond is the new “The Holdovers,” but set at Christmas.
10. “How I Met Your Mother”
Season 3, Episode 9: “Slaps”
Streaming on Hulu
Talking about turkey: It’s hard enough hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. But when her friends/guests are too busy dealing with the aftermath of a breakup or planning a slap in the face for years to come, it’s enough to make Lily want to give up. Orson Bean as Robin’s “older” boyfriend and Jason Segel’s post-slap song are added bonuses.
9. “Well done”
Season 5, Episode 9: “Thanksgiving Orphans”
Streaming on Hulu
The talking turkey: the two best culinary fights ever broadcast on the big or small screen? John Belushi’s Bluto debuts a classic in “Animal House” and the cast of “Cheers” goes wild in this celebration of found family. The craziness continues right down to the running joke that we never see the face of Norm’s mysterious wife Vera, even though she makes an appearance.
8. “Friends”
Season 6, Episode 9: “The One Where Ross Got High”
Streaming on Max
Talking turkey: No sitcom has embraced Thanksgiving as fully as “Friends,” which aired Turkey Day-themed episodes in nine of its seasons. Season 3’s football-heavy offering is a favorite, but this one takes the edge as a nod to the recently deceased Matthew Perry. His Chandler is at the top of his game here as he tries to convince Monica’s parents.
7. “Gilmore Girls”
Season 3, Episode 9: “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving”
Streaming on Netflix
Turkey Talk: In case you didn’t learn this elsewhere, Melissa McCarthy is hilarious. Sure, her Sookie is helped here by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino’s brilliant writing, but she delivers so much in quick bursts. And the talkative mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore brave four Thanksgiving meals trying to please everyone.
6. “This is us”
Season 1, Episode 8: “Pilgrim Rick”
Streaming on Hulu
Let’s talk turkey: does anyone have two Milo Ventimiglia appearances on the bingo card? His small role in the “Gilmore” festivities is overshadowed by the legend of Jack Pearson – super dad and, in a pinch, Pilgrim Rick. If you’ve ever watched “This Is Us,” you know you’re going to cry. But this one is a special examination of the things parents do for and because of their children. Some of these things become permanent traditions; others are accompanied by pain.
5. “Hannah and Her Sisters”
Streaming on Max
Talking Turkey: If you get past the family debate about watching anything by Woody Allen, this one serves an equal number of Thanksgiving dinners and Oscar wins: three. Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest won for their supporting roles in a cast that included Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Max von Sydow and Allen. With Allen, winner for his screenplay, the stories of love and family are complicated.
4. “Planes, trains and automobiles”
Broadcast on Paramount+
The Talking Turkey: It’s only John Hughes’ No. 2 holiday movie—more on that in a moment—but it claims the top spot among Thanksgiving movies. And no, it’s not just about the “pillows.” Steve Martin and John Candy are a dream and nightmare couple, and this is undoubtedly Candy’s best film. His Del Griffith is too much for any stressed traveler to handle, but he wears you down with gentleness, sincerity, and vulnerability. Don’t miss Martin’s car rental showdown with scene-stealing Edie McClurg. And Hughes’ best holiday movie is “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” not “Home Alone,” by the way.
3. “WKRP in Cincinnati”
Season 1, Episode 7: “Turkeys Away”
Streaming on Apple TV+
The Talking Turkey: There are promotional stunts gone wrong, and then there’s the big WKRP turkey giveaway of 1978. In case you missed that in the last 45 years, we won’t spoil it how these turkeys were distributed. But when award-winning journalist Les Nessman exclaims, “Oh, humanity!” On the air, the only reasonable explanation comes from his boss, Arthur Carlson: “God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
2. “Master of None”
Season 2, Episode 8: “Thanksgiving”
Streaming on Netflix
Talking Turkey: This showcase of Lena Waithe’s acting and writing is a beautiful family story that takes her character, Denise, through several Thanksgivings with her mother, her grandmother, her aunt, her best friend and his love interests. Waithe tells her story of coming out to her mother – played brilliantly by Angela Bassett – and finding the right woman, as opposed to the one with a hilarious Instagram name that we won’t spoil.
1. “The West Wing”
Season 2, Episode 8: “Shibboleth”
Streaming on Max
Talking Turkey: Aaron Sorkin created three of the best Christmas TV series episodes of all time and earns our title for the ultimate Thanksgiving offering. Plot A concerns refugees who seek religious freedom in America and arrive by boat. While he deals with this crisis, President Jed Bartlet also needs to pardon a turkey, educate a delivery driver, and get a new carving knife, because the one a silversmith named Paul Revere made for his family will soon have a new owner.
Gam
