So, for fun this week, I watched all 10 Friends’ Thanksgiving episodes. I haven’t watched Friends in a while, so it was fun to just dip in once per season to remember what was going on in their lives. It was easy to do on Netflix; most episodes were number 8 or 9 in the season. Almost all of them said “Thanksgiving” in the episode synopsis. But below is a list of episodes ranked – I assume great to good.

All 10 ‘Friends’ Thanksgiving Episodes – Ranked

What other tv shows have memorable Thanksgiving episodes?

I never watch TV during prime time. Or at least Live TV during prime time.  I stream a lot of TV or watch recordings or on-demand TV. I’m sure that it is more the rule than the exception in 2017.  (Speaking of 2017, today’s date – all prime numbers – is the inspiration for this post!)

One prime time show I am keeping up with – either on Hulu or my DVR – is This is Us.  I’m sure it needs no introduction, as it is much-watched.  I like the stories told in the present and in the past and think that it is pretty clever and well done.

Other Prime-Timey shows I have been watching are:

• Speechless – about a family with a teenager with cerebral palsy who is nonverbal and uses a communication board. Minnie Driver plays the mother who advocates heartily for her son and drives her minivan like a maniac. It is pretty funny and cute.
• Great News – about a mother who gets an internship at the the cable news program in New Jersey where her daughter works. I think it’s pretty hilarious and love the actors in it.
• Younger  – about a divorced woman who is returning to the workforce and finding it unfriendly for her 40-year-old self, so she poses as a 25 year old and gets hired in the publishing business. Starring Sutton Foster (of Broadway fame) and on TVLand (or tvland.com, where I’ve been watching). I’m savoring the last few episodes of this season…
• The Mindy Project – the final episode of her series, which moved to Hulu, airs tonight at midnight. This show is the reason I subscribed to Hulu, so I could keep watching it after it left TV. I won’t stay up to watch tonight but will catch it tomorrow!

As you can see, I lean towards the light and comedic. If Chris and I are watching TV together we watch a LOT of International House Hunters and Tiny House Hunters from our DVR – we watch a lot because they make a lot!  It’s fun to dream about living abroad and living even tinier than we are. We also love to laugh at the people who want an America Kitchen in their Vietnamese apartment or the walk-in closet and full-size appliances in their tiny house.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I am looking for holiday themed movies and television shows on all of the streaming options. Tonight, it’s Home for the Holidays, the 1995 Holly Hunter movie about coming home for Thanksgiving.  I remember the year we discovered all the Thanksgiving episodes from Cheers – what a hoot.  Maybe this year I’ll look for all the Friends episodes! I do love a theme…

Do you have favorite Thanksgiving movies or television episodes?

And now, a list from Wikipedia of films set around Thanksgiving!  I think there are some to add to my queue!

Animated[edit]

• B.C.: The First Thanksgiving, a 1973 TV film
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving, a 1989 TV film
• Feedin’ the Kiddie, a 1957 cartoon short featuring Tom and Jerry
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, a 1973 TV film
• Free Birds, a 2013 film directed by Jimmy Hayward
• Holiday for Drumsticks, a 1949 Merrie Melodies cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck
• Jerky Turkey, a 1945 cartoon short
• The Little Orphan, a 1949 cartoon short featuring Tom and Jerry
• Mouse on the Mayflower, a 1968 TV film
• Pilgrim Popeye, a 1951 cartoon short featuring Popeye
• Pilgrim Porky, a 1940 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Porky Pig
• Soup’s On, a 1948 cartoon short featuring Donald Duck with Huey, Dewey, and Louie
• This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers, a 1988 TV film
• Tom Turk and Daffy, a 1944 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig
• The Voice of the Turkey, a 1950 Noveltoons cartoon short
• Seasons of Giving, a 1999 TV film featuring Winnie the Pooh
• Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration, a 2009 TV film

Comedy[edit]

• Addams Family Values, a 1993 film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
• Alice’s Restaurant, a 1969 film directed by Arthur Penn
• Awkward Thanksgiving, a 2014 film written and directed Henrique Couto
• Broadway Danny Rose, a 1984 film written and directed by Woody Allen
• For Your Consideration, a 2006 film written and directed by Christopher Guest
• The Gold Rush, a 1924 film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin
• Grumpy Old Men, a 1993 film directed by Donald Petrie
• The House of Yes, a 1997 film directed by Mark Waters
• Jack and Jill, a 2011 film directed by Dennis Dugan
• National Lampoon’s Thanksgiving Family Reunion, a 2003 television film directed by Neal Israel
• Not Cool, a 2014 film directed by Shane Dawson
• The Object of My Affection, a 1998 film directed by Nicholas Hytner
• The Other Sister, a 1999 film directed by Garry Marshall
• Paul Blart Mall Cop, a 2009 film directed by Steve Carr
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a 1987 film written and directed by John Hughes
• Somebody Killed Her Husband, a 1978 comedy/mystery film directed by Lamont Johnson
• Son in Law, a 1993 film directed by Steve Rash
• The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski, a 1985 television film written by Jean Shepherd and directed by Fred Barzyk
• Tadpole, a 2002 American film directed by Gary Winick
• Thanksgiving Day, a 1990 television film directed by Gino Tanasescu
• Tower Heist, a 2011 film directed by Brett Ratner
• The Big Chill, a 1983 film directed by Lawrence Kasdan
• Dutch, a 1991 film written by John Hughes and directed by Peter Faiman
• The Facts of Life Reunion, a 2001 television film based on the 1979-88 sitcom
• Funny People, a 2009 film cowritten and directed by Judd Apatow
• Hannah and Her Sisters, a 1986 film written and directed by Woody Allen
• Home for the Holidays, a 1995 film directed by Jodie Foster
• Nobody’s Fool, a 1994 film directed by Robert Benton
• Palo Alto, a 2007 film directed by Brad Leong
• Pieces of April, a 2003 film written and directed by Peter Hedges
• She’s Gotta Have It, a 1986 film written and directed by Spike Lee
• Smart People, a 2008 film written by Mark Poirier and directed by Noam Murro
• Sweet Hearts Dance, a 1988 film directed by Robert Greenwald
• Thanksgiving, a 2014 film directed by Adam Newport-Berra
• What’s Cooking?, a 2000 film directed by Gurinder Chadha

Drama[edit]

• American Son, a 2008 film directed by Neil Abramson
• Avalon, a 1990 film directed by Barry Levinson
• The Blind Side, a 2009 film directed by John Lee Hancock
• Brokeback Mountain, a 2005 film directed by Ang Lee
• The Daytrippers, a 1996 film directed by Greg Mottola
• Four Brothers, a 2005 film directed by John Singleton
• The Ice Storm, a 1997 film directed by Ang Lee and based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Rick Moody
• The Morning After, a 1986 film directed by Sidney Lumet
• The Myth of Fingerprints, a 1997 film directed by Bart Freundlich
• One Special Night, a 1999 television film directed by Roger Young
• One True Thing, a 1998 film directed by Carl Franklin
• Plymouth Adventure, a 1952 film directed by Clarence Brown
• Prisoners, a 2013 film directed by Denis Villeneuve
• Rescue Dawn, a 2006 film directed by Werner Herzog
• Rocky, a 1976 film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone
• Rocky II, a 1979 film directed, written by, and starring Sylvester Stallone
• Scent of a Woman, a 1992 film directed by Martin Brest
• Still Alice, a 2014 film directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
• Sweet November, a 2001 film directed by Pat O’Connor
• Thanksgiving, a 2004 short film directed by Tom Donahue
• A Time to Remember, a 2003 television film directed by William Sims Myers
• Unhook the Stars, a 1996 film directed by Nick Cassavetes
• The Vicious Kind, a 2009 film directed by Lee Toland Krieger
• The War at Home, a 1996 film directed by and starring Emilio Estevez

Family[edit]

• A Family Thanksgiving, a 2010 Hallmark Channel Original Movie directed by Neill Fearnley
• An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving, a 2008 Hallmark Channel Original Movie based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott
• Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale, a 1994 Disney film based on the life of Squanto, featuring the first Thanksgiving in the final scene
• The Thanksgiving Promise, a 1986 Disney adaptation starring Beau Bridges
• The Thanksgiving Visitor, a 1967 TV adaptation of the story by Truman Capote
• Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, a 2012 Hallmark Channel Original Movie
• Miracle on 34th Street, a 1947 comedy-fantasy spanning from Thanksgiving to Christmas; remade for television in 1973 and theatrically in 1994
• You’ve Got Mail, a 1998 romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan
• Turkey Hollow, a 2015 film from Jim Henson
• Holiday Engagement, a 2011 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Bonnie Somerville and Shelley Long
• The National Tree, a 2009 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Andrew McCarthy
• The Thanksgiving House, a 2013 Hallmark Channel Original Movie starring Emily Rose

Horror[edit]

• Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), a family is terrorized by extraterrestrial creatures while celebrating Thanksgiving
• Blood Rage (1983), a psychopath goes on a homicidal rampage after the twin brother he framed for murder years earlier escapes on Thanksgiving
• Boogeyman (2005), around Thanksgiving, a man is stalked by the entity that haunted his childhood
• Home Movie (2008), home video footage documents a family’s descent into violence and madness; includes scenes of various holidays including Thanksgiving
• Home Sweet Home (1981), an escaped mental patient embarks on a killing spree over Thanksgiving weekend
• Intensity (1997), a young woman encounters a serial killer while visiting a friend’s family for Thanksgiving, then follows him to try and rescue a teenager he’s abducted
• Kristy (2014), a college girl who is alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts
• Thanksgiving (2006; short film), two couples are taken captive and tortured by a sadist during Thanksgiving dinner
• Thanksgiving (2007; short film), an insane, turkey-obsessed pilgrim commits a series of random murders on Thanksgiving; directed by Eli Roth
• ThanksKilling (2009), a group of students are hunted by a demonic turkey during Thanksgiving break
• ThanksKilling 3, a 2012 film sequel to ThanksKilling
• Thanxgiving, a 2006 film, directed by Bobby Ray Akers, Jr. about Spectre, a college film student, who takes his film crew to a deserted campground to finish his thesis film over Thanksgiving break

Thriller[edit]

• Don’t Say a Word, a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas
• North by Northwest, a 1959 thriller starring Cary Grant
• Unknown, a 2011 psychological thriller starring Liam Neeson
• Thanksgiving, a 2007 short by Joe Larue about a homosexual male couple

Other[edit]

• By the Light of the Silvery Moon, a 1953 musical film, features a scene in which the boy Wesley (Billy Gray) tries to save his pet turkey by stealing another turkey for his family’s Thanksgiving dinner
• The Last Waltz, a 1978 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese about The Band‘s farewell concert, which took place on Thanksgiving Day in 1976
• The Doors, a 1991 biopic about Jim Morrison starring Val Kilmer