Best Shows to Watch on Thanksgiving: 12 Picks for the Couch Coma

Start with The Bear, season 2, episode 6 ("Fishes"). It's a holiday dinner that becomes a hostage situation, everyone in your family will see themselves in it, and it's the single best hour of television that has ever aired about a family meal going sideways. If you only watch one thing this weekend, watch that. Then keep going with the rest of season 2, which is the good one. Everything else on this list is what you put on after the plates get cleared and someone starts crying in the driveway.

A quick warning before we get into it. Thanksgiving TV is a scam most years. Every list on Google tells you to watch the same three Friends episodes, the Bob's Burgers turkey one, and WKRP. Those are fine. They are also written into your DNA at this point. Below are 12 shows that will actually get you through a four-day weekend where nobody in your family is speaking to each other, ranked from cancel-your-plans down to only-if-you're-drunk.

The Tier List, Briefly

Must-watch: The Bear, Succession, The Sopranos, Fargo

Worth your time: Gilmore Girls, Somebody Feed Phil, Bob's Burgers, Detectorists

Only if you're the right person: Party Down, Chef's Table

Background only: Cheers, Friends

Now the actual picks.

The Bear (2022, 4 seasons, Hulu)

A fine-dining chef inherits his dead brother's beef sandwich shop in Chicago and slowly loses his mind. Start with S2E6 ("Fishes"). That's the Christmas Eve episode with the whole cast plus Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, and Sarah Paulson, all screaming at each other over a seven-fish dinner. It is the Thanksgiving mood distilled. Who'll love it: anyone whose family has ever had a real fight about a casserole. Who'll bounce: people who need shows to be relaxing (the kitchen scenes are shot like a war movie and sound like one too). Time: roughly 38 episodes across four seasons, most around 30 minutes. A long weekend. Status: ongoing, renewed for a fifth season. This is the only show that gets Thanksgiving right, which is: love, resentment, food, and a guy in the corner having a panic attack about a Coke syrup line. Watch it.

🏆 DROP EVERYTHING

Succession (2018, 4 seasons, HBO Max)

A billionaire's rotten adult children spend four seasons trying to inherit his media empire and failing at every human interaction in between. Start with S1E1. Do not skip the pilot, it's the whole show in miniature. Who'll love it: anyone who grew up around money, or anyone who resents people who did. Who'll bounce: if you need a character to root for, you will hate this. Nobody is good. Time: 39 episodes, hour each. A serious weekend commitment. Status: ended, four seasons, wrapped clean. Thanksgiving is the one holiday where the American family unit gets studied under a microscope, and Succession is the meanest, funniest microscope ever built. Kendall's birthday party in season 3 will do more for your mood than any pie. Also Cousin Greg is the greatest Thanksgiving cousin of all time. He would ruin your dinner and you would love him for it.

🏆 DROP EVERYTHING

The Sopranos (1999, 6 seasons, HBO Max)

A New Jersey mob boss has panic attacks and eats a lot of gabagool. Start with S1E1, or if you're a returner and want the Thanksgiving vibe specifically, jump to S3E2 ("Proshai, Livushka") or the family dinner scenes anywhere in season 4. Who'll love it: if you liked Goodfellas and wanted it to be 86 hours long, this is your show. Who'll bounce: anyone who needs plot momentum every episode. Sopranos is a hangout show wearing a crime drama's suit. Time: 86 episodes. Do not attempt in one weekend. Status: ended in 2007, still the greatest thing HBO ever made. Every dinner scene at the Soprano house is a Thanksgiving. Carmela's ziti, Tony brooding at the head of the table, Meadow starting an argument about foreign policy. It's the same meal you're eating, just in New Jersey and with a body in the trunk.

🏆 DROP EVERYTHING

Fargo (2014, 5 seasons, Hulu)

An anthology crime series set in the frozen Midwest where nice people do horrible things to each other with polite smiles. Start with S1E1 or, if you want the strongest season, S2E1. Season 2 is a masterpiece, don't let anyone talk you out of it. Who'll love it: if you liked the Coen Brothers movie or True Detective season 1, yes. Who'll bounce: if snow, silence, and dry menace bore you, skip. Time: 55 episodes across five self-contained seasons. Pick one season and commit. Status: ongoing, season 6 coming. It's a Midwestern show about people who smile while stabbing each other. That is Thanksgiving.

✅ WORTH IT

Gilmore Girls (2000, 7 seasons, Netflix)

A fast-talking mom and her fast-talking daughter live in a Connecticut town where everyone is quirky and coffee flows like it's a controlled substance. Start with S1E1, but the Thanksgiving episode you want is S3E9 ("A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving") where Lorelai and Rory attend four Thanksgiving dinners in one day. Who'll love it: if you want the TV equivalent of a scented candle and a blanket, this is that. Who'll bounce: anyone allergic to dialogue that never slows down. Time: 154 episodes plus a Netflix revival nobody liked. Status: ended, then un-ended, then re-ended. Watch the original run. It's the show your mom will actually sit down and watch with you, which is the whole point of the holiday. Skip the revival. It's bad. I'm not going to hedge on that.

✅ WORTH IT

Somebody Feed Phil (2018, 8 seasons, Netflix)

Phil Rosenthal, the guy who created Everybody Loves Raymond, travels the world eating food and being delighted by it. That's the whole show. Start with the Lisbon episode (S3E1) or the Bangkok one (S6E5). Pick a city you'd want to eat in and go there. Who'll love it: anyone who wants TV that is genuinely, uncynically joyful. Who'll bounce: if you find middle-aged enthusiasm annoying, this will feel like being trapped next to your uncle at a Cheesecake Factory. Time: episodes are around an hour. Watch one, watch six, it doesn't matter, they don't connect. Status: ongoing, ninth season in production per Netflix. It's a food show made by a happy man. On a day when your family is emotionally waterboarding you between football games, that is a gift.

✅ WORTH IT

Bob's Burgers (2011, 15 seasons, Hulu / Disney+ / Prime Video)

A family runs a struggling burger restaurant next to a funeral home. Start with the Thanksgiving episodes, which are consistently the best in each season: S3E5 ("An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal"), S4E5 ("Turkey in a Can"), and S6E4 ("Gayle Makin' Bob Sled"). Who'll love it: if you liked King of the Hill or want a family sitcom that actually likes its family, yes. Who'll bounce: if you need edgy, this is not edgy. It's warm. Time: endless. 15 seasons, 22 minutes each, plus a movie. Status: ongoing forever, apparently. It has better Thanksgiving episodes than any show on television, and I'll die on that hill. Bob's turkey obsession is the funniest recurring joke in animated TV. It also gets at the actual thing about the holiday, which is that trying too hard for the people you love is the whole deal.

✅ WORTH IT

Detectorists (2014, 3 seasons + special, Prime Video / Acorn)

Two British guys wander around English fields with metal detectors looking for Roman gold and mostly finding pull tabs. Start with S1E1. Who'll love it: if you loved Schitt's Creek or The Great British Bake Off, this is your slower, quieter cousin. Who'll bounce: anyone who needs a plot that moves. This is a show about hobbies and standing in a field. Time: 19 episodes plus a 2022 special. A single Saturday will do it. Status: ended, gently. Mackenzie Crook wrote, directed, and starred in it, and it's the calmest, warmest show I can recommend for a day when the family is loud and the wine is being uncorked at 11 AM. It's also on Amazon Prime Video, which is worth the subscription for this show alone. If you don't have it, start a Prime Video free trial and knock the whole run out over the weekend. This is the off-the-beaten-path pick people will thank you for.

✅ WORTH IT

Party Down (2009, 3 seasons, Starz)

A catering crew of failed LA actors work weddings and bar mitzvahs and slowly realize they are not going to make it. Start with S1E1 ("Willow Canyon Homeowners Annual Party"). Who'll love it: if you liked Veep or Arrested Development, or if you have ever worked in food service, yes. Who'll bounce: if awkward comedy makes you leave the room, skip. Time: 26 episodes, half an hour each. A single afternoon. Status: originally ended in 2010, came back for a third season in 2023 with most of the cast. It's a show about serving food at other people's celebrations while your own life falls apart. Every catering horror story you've ever heard is in it. Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr. Not a weak link. Nobody watched it when it aired and everyone should watch it now.

✅ WORTH IT

Chef's Table (2015, 7 volumes, Netflix)

A gorgeous documentary series about chefs around the world, filmed like a cologne commercial. Start with S1E1 (Massimo Bottura) or the pastry volume if you want dessert-brain. Who'll love it: if you eat with the sound on and Instagram food videos hypnotize you. Who'll bounce: if you find slow motion and orchestral music tiring after ten minutes, this will kill you. Time: 48 episodes, roughly 50 minutes each. A dip-in, dip-out show. Status: ongoing, they add new volumes irregularly. It's food porn with orchestras. On a day when you have eaten three plates and are legally required to sit still for four hours, it is the perfect middle distance for your eyes.

🛋️ BACKGROUND TV

Cheers (1982, 11 seasons, Peacock / Paramount+)

A Boston bar. Regulars. A bartender. That's it. Start with S1E1 or, for the Thanksgiving episode specifically, S5E9 ("Thanksgiving Orphans"), which is the greatest Thanksgiving episode in sitcom history and I don't take that lightly. Food fight, whole cast, 22 minutes, perfect. Who'll love it: anyone who wants a warm bath of a show. Who'll bounce: if the pace of an 80s sitcom feels like watching paint dry, skip. Time: 275 episodes. Endless. Status: ended in 1993 and still holds up. It is the definition of background TV in the good way. Put it on, let it run, look up when Norm walks in.

🛋️ BACKGROUND TV

Friends (1994, 10 seasons, HBO Max)

Yes, fine. The Thanksgiving episodes are on every list because they are legitimately good. Start with S5E8 ("The One with All the Thanksgivings") or S3E9 ("The One with the Football"). Do not watch the whole show. You've seen the whole show. Who'll love it: anyone in the room who is not in the mood for anything challenging. Who'll bounce: anyone who wants to be surprised by television. Time: the Thanksgiving episodes total maybe three hours across all ten seasons. Status: ended, syndicated into eternity. It's here because it will keep your least-picky family member off your back. That's its job. Do not pretend it's more than that.

🛋️ BACKGROUND TV

FAQ

What's the best Thanksgiving episode of any show, ranked honestly?

Cheers S5E9 ("Thanksgiving Orphans") is the correct answer if you want a laugh. The Bear S2E6 ("Fishes") is the correct answer if you want a religious experience. WKRP's turkey drop is the correct answer if you're 60. Pick your poison based on how much emotional damage you can absorb.

What should I put on with family in the room who agree on nothing?

Somebody Feed Phil or Bob's Burgers. Both are warm, both are funny, neither has anything anyone will fight about. If your family fights about Bob's Burgers, the problem is not the show.

What's a Thanksgiving movie recommendation if I'm sick of TV?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Steve Martin and John Candy, 1987, John Hughes. It's the best Thanksgiving movie ever made and it's not close. Streams on Paramount+ and rents everywhere else. The last five minutes will destroy you.

I'm alone this Thanksgiving. What do I watch?

Detectorists. Three short seasons, quiet, warm, funny without trying. It's the show equivalent of a friend who doesn't need you to talk. If you want louder company, Party Down will make you feel like you're back at a job that hated you, in a good way.

What to watch tonight

Here's the concrete plan. Tonight, watch The Bear S2E6 ("Fishes"). One hour. That's it. If you like it, keep going through season 2. If you hate it, you now know what everyone was talking about and you can move on with your life. Tomorrow, put on Bob's Burgers S3E5 during pie. Saturday, if the family is still speaking, start Detectorists. Sunday, when everyone's gone, watch Party Down S1E1 by yourself with the leftovers. That's your weekend. You're welcome.

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