De-stress With These 15 Hilarious TV Sitcom Thanksgiving Episodes​

WKRP in Cincinnati

The episode: “Turkeys Away” (1978)

The plot: Widely considered one of the most uproarious sitcom episodes of all time, “Turkeys Away” sees Mr. Carlson (Gordon Jump) concocting a publicity stunt for the station that involves dropping 20 live turkeys from a helicopter above a mall parking lot. The audience never sees the disastrous results, only experiencing it through the horrified reactions of reporter Les Nessman (Richard Sanders): “Oh, the humanity! People are running about. The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!” Carlson later admits: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”

The dish: Turkey meat loaf or soup or chili — or any recipe that can accommodate some slightly damaged poultry.

Watch it: “Turkeys Away,” on Apple TV

Family Ties

The episode: “No Nukes Is Good Nukes” (1982)

The plot: Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) put meal prepping on hold to attend an antinuclear rally. But when trouble breaks out, they end up spending the holiday behind bars. When they refuse to sign a statement saying they won't protest again, the cavalry — Alex (Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman), Jennifer (Tina Yothers), and Elyse's parents — arrives with picnic baskets of turkey in tow.

The dish: Stuffing with bean sprouts, a new recipe that ex-hippie Elyse is trying out before she gets locked up.

Watch it: “No Nukes Is Good Nukes,” on Paramount+​

Cheers

The episode: “Thanksgiving Orphans” (1986)

The plot: Sometimes you want to go to a holiday potluck where everybody knows your name. For a variety of reasons, the Cheers staff and regulars find themselves celebrating Thanksgiving dinner away from family and together at Carla's (Rhea Perlman) house. Norm (George Wendt) shows up with a raw turkey, Diane (Shelley Long) dresses as a pilgrim, and rising tensions end in a massive food fight.

The dish: Carla's peas, which are the first shot fired by Norm in the culinary battle.

Watch it: “Thanksgiving Orphans,” on Hulu

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Full House

The episode: “The Miracle of Thanksgiving” (1987)

The plot: The Tanners’ first Thanksgiving without their late mother, Pam, is unsurprisingly poignant, but it's still packed with a full smorgasbord of laughs: Uncle Joey (Dave Coulier) gets his tongue stuck in a bottle that then gets stuck in a chair, Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) cooks in a leather vest, and the turkey goes from frozen solid to charcoal-crisp burnt in a matter of minutes.

The dish: The “picture-perfect pumpkin pie” that Stephanie drops on the floor.

Watch it: “The Miracle of Thanksgiving,” on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube

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A Different World

The episode: “If You Like Pilgrim Coladas” (1988)

The plot: When the rest of their classmates leave campus for the holidays, Kim (Charnele Brown) and Whitley (Jasmine Guy) pull out their fake IDs and head to a club to drown their homesickness. After knocking back two of the drink specials that give the episode its name, Whitley ends up drunk — or is she? — and singing “Twist and Shout” on the bar, before she's caught by one of their professors, Col. Taylor (Glynn Turman).

The dish: The Pilgrim Colada, which it turns out is actually alcohol-free and from the kiddie menu!

Watch it: “If You Like Pilgrim Coladas,” on Amazon Prime

The Simpsons

The episode: “Bart vs. Thanksgiving” (1990)

The plot: Early critics of The Simpsons (including President Bush) saw the yellow bunch as the downfall of American wholesomeness — but skeptics missed out on sweet episodes like this Thanksgiving classic. After destroying Lisa's elaborate centerpiece, Bart runs away from home with his dog, Santa's Little Helper, and learns a powerful lesson when he stops inside a soup kitchen.

The dish: Swedish meatballs and trout amandine, which Patty and Selma bring to dinner because they think their sister Marge's turkey is dry.

Watch it: “Bart vs. Thanksgiving,” on Disney+

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The Wonder Years

The episode: "The Ties That Bind” (1990)

The plot: Perfectly capturing the wistfully bittersweet tone that generations of fans love about this show, the Thanksgiving outing starts with the family's stove breaking. Jack (Dan Lauria) asks for a raise to buy a new one, but it comes with a catch: a promotion that means he'll have to travel before the holidays. Will he make it home in time to carve the turkey?

The dish: “A turkey the size of a Buick,” as an adult Kevin (Daniel Stern) describes the family dinner in his narration.

Watch it: “The Ties That Bind,” on Hulu

Seinfeld

The episode: “The Mom and Pop Store” (1994)

The plot: In this particularly zany episode, George (Jason Alexander) buys a car that may have been owned by Jon Voight; Kramer (Michael Richards) takes all of Jerry's sneakers to a mom-and-pop repair store; Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) wins her boss a ticket to hold a rope on the Woody Woodpecker balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; and Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) chips his tooth while running in boots.

The dish: A bowl of nuts. A temporarily deaf Elaine — it's a long story — rejects a date with her crush, Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston), because she thinks he's just offering her nuts.

Watch it: “The Mom and Pop Store,” on Netflix​​​​​​​​​

Will & Grace

The episode: “Homo for the Holidays” (1999)

The plot: When Will (Eric McCormack) invites Jack's mother, Judith (played by Veronica Cartwright), over for Thanksgiving dinner, the gang is shocked to learn that Jack (Sean Hayes) has never officially come out to her. Judith ends up revealing a secret of her own: Jack's real father is a one-night stand she met at a party. The heartwarming but hilarious episode won Hayes a supporting actor Emmy and was ranked number 74 on TV Guide's “100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time” list in 2009.

The dish: Any kind of casserole to honor Judith, who quips, “Hot dish coming through — and she's carrying a casserole.” 

Watch it: "Homo for the Holidays," on Hulu

Friends

The episode: "The One With the Rumor” (2001)

The plot: You could make an entire watch list solely out of the 10 Friends-giving episodes, which include such classic moments as Rachel's beef-filled trifle (Season 6) and Monica with a turkey on her head (Season 5). But Thanksgiving meals live or die by who's around the table, and Season 8 features a doozy of a dinner guest: Brad Pitt, as an old classmate and founder of the “I Hate Rachel Green Club.” Elsewhere, when Monica (Courteney Cox) tells the group she's not cooking a turkey this year because half of them won't eat it, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) protests and agrees to eat the whole 19-pounder himself, which leads to him getting “meat sweats.”

The dish: Potato chips, which Joey uses to warm up his stomach before the poultry marathon.

Watch it: “The One With the Rumor,” on HBO Max

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Nov. 3, 2020. It has been updated with current links where you can stream the shows on this list.