5 Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes

South Park

If you prefer laughingcheck out South Park's "A History Channel Thanksgiving" Season 15, Episode 13.

The boys discover the horrific truth about Thanksgiving via The History Channel. They learn that from Ancient Aliens that...aliens shaped the very first Thanksgiving and used their advanced technology to create the best thing on the Turkey Day table - STUFFING!

Alien Pilgrims fall from the sky after being trapped on a far-away planet "Plymouth" - where the stuffing mines have been shut down.

We won't tell you what happens next, but let's just say that stuffing is in some serious danger and Natalie Portman has to get involved with a wormhole.

Friends

This wouldn't be a proper list without including Friends. There is something very special about this '90s sitcom and it's love of Thanksgiving.

Uptight chef Monica always tries to make a perfect meal for the entire gang while disaster always ensues, usually with someones head stuck up a turkey's bum.

"The One with All the Thanksgivings" Season 5, Episode 8 is a collection of our favorite Friends turkey day moments.

Rachel serves her gag-worthy savory yet sweet trifle dessert. Joey and Monica turn into turkey heads. And lastly, Chandler accidentally blurts out "I love you" to Monica in one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series.

And don't forget that Brad Pitt also attends!

Plus, what's better than sharing the day with your chosen family - your friends!

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The season 4 episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer "Pangs" still remains to be quite a controversial Thanksgiving episode, mainly because it dealt with ethics and race.

But no matter what happened, Buffy refused to let anything ruin her Friendsgiving!

"The core of it was something Joss had wanted to do for a long time, which is have a dead Indian at Thanksgiving — a very poetic illustration, I think, that we do kind of live in this country by virtue of some very ugly conquest. And the next thing you know we had a very non-threatening bear and some funny syphilis."

As Buffy attempts to put together a perfect Thanksgiving, Xander accidentally releases Hus, a Native American vengeance spirit. Angel secretly comes to Sunnydale to protect her from the spirit.

At the end of a serious bow and arrow battle and struggle with a huge black bear, the fam sits down, with Spike tied to a chair and arrows all over the table to enjoy Thanksgiving together.

This Is Us

If you're in the mood for some serious feels, the very first Thanksgiving episode, "Pilgrim Rick", of NBC's new family drama This Is Us is a total tear-jerker, making itself a permanant spot on this list for years to come.

"The Thanksgiving episode of This Is Us brought all the feels — and the family together — for an ultra-charged installment of the NBC drama, mixing moments of warmth and tradition and togetherness and romance and humor with heartbreak and betrayal and confrontation."

The shows creator, Dan Fogelman, explained how difficult and amazing it was to create and episode that is both based in the past and the future:

It's always a challenge when you sit down to do the holiday episode for any TV show, because it's all been done before. When we came up with this idea, Isaac [Aptaker] and Elizabeth [Berger], who wrote the episode, and myself, we were talking about the idea of seeing this unusual Thanksgiving in present day and then learning how that Thanksgiving came to be in the past. And I said, "Wow, that's excellent, because no one else can quite do that show the same way that we can, because of the way that we play with time." So that became really exciting. And then secondarily, from the moment I saw the first cut of this episode, I've been so proud of it because my favorite thing, whether it be TV or film or a book, is the stuff that can merge the weighty with the comedic and the light.

"And I feel like the episode has such a great tone to it, because it's got sucha heavy ending and there's such weighty moments, whether it be William giving that monologue on the front stoop to Olivia, but then it also has this incredibly fun, light kind of joie to it. And it all happens in the same 42 minutes of television, so when I first saw the first cut, I said, "Wow, that's like a perfect episode of television." Because I really laughed and I really smiled and really enjoyed it, but, I mean, there are gut-shot moments and then there are impactful acting moments, and it's all really seamless."

A lot of bombshells were dropped, cries were heard, and so was laughter as this family tries to survive modern times.

The Thanksgiving in the past is a complete disaster that turns into a very pleasant and happy family memory, while the current Thanksgiving dinner starts out as a fun, exciting day and ends in complete and total heartbreak.

It's a good one, trust us.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

If you're looking for a Thanksgiving that is completely out of the ordinary, check out Season 9, Episode 10 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Gang Decides To Squash Their Beef."

Some people gather around close family and friends at Thanksgiving, but that's just not the It's Always Sunny gang's style. The prefer to spend the holiday asking their mortal enemies for forgiveness.

Instead, they invite the various enemies they've made over nine seasons of bad behavior including standouts like Liam and Ryan McPoyle (Jimmi Simpson and Nate Mooney), Hwang (Shelly Desai), Gail the Snail (Mary Lynn Rajskub), and Cricket (David Hornsby) in the hopes of making amends for their years of bad behavior.

As always, the episode turns into a complete disaster, complete with unontrollable laughs and maybe even tears or gagging.

Also, you can't go wrong with Danny DeVito or anything that takes place in the great city of Philadephia!