And because we’re feeling thankful for our sparkly, new HBO Max account (where the sitcom is streaming), we’ve ranked all 10 Friends Thanksgiving episodes for you here—from the merely outright funny to the kick-you-in-the-crotch-spit-on-your-neck-fantastic.
Friends’ Best Thanksgiving Episodes
10. “The One With the List”: Friends Season 2, Episode 8
This episode is a “pivot!"-al one for Ross and Rachel fans, but it’s coming in last on our list simply because it lacks a true Thanksgiving theme like the rest of the episodes. The only tie-in to the holiday is when Monica lands a job where she’s required to create a number of Thanksgiving treats using a disgusting synthetic chocolate substitute called “Mockolate,” but it doesn’t go over well. Though she successfully creates Mockolate chip cookies “just like the Indians served,” Phoebe’s reaction says it all: “This is what evil tastes like.” Ranking: If you’re looking to get in the Thanksgiving spirit, you may want to skip this one. If you’re so over the holiday, this one should be on your list.
9. “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs”: Friends Season 7, Episode 8
In this episode, fans are introduced to “Chandler’s Dumb States Game” where you have to write down all 50 states without cheating. Ross becomes so obsessed with naming all the states that he refuses to allow himself to eat Thanksgiving dinner until he completes the game—but unfortunately, he never ends up finishing after he deems it “impossible.” Joey, on the other hand, finishes after naming 56 states. (Yes, you read that correctly!) Also, Rachel invites her cute assistant Tag over for Thanksgiving dinner and debates whether or not she should make a move as he was just recently dumped that morning. Ranking: Worth watching just to see Phoebe skip the states game and list the “kinds of celery” instead. Maybe sneak it in between greeting guests.
8. “The One Where Underdog Gets Away”: Friends Season 1, Episode 9
The very first Friends Thanksgiving episode centered around the dinner at Monica’s apartment that no one wanted to attend. Rachel has plans to go to Vail to spend the holiday with her family after scrounging up every last penny to pay for a plane ticket. Joey also has plans to spend the day with his family, but after seeing his photo on a poster for STD testing in the subway, he decides to skip it. We first learn of Chandler’s hatred for Thanksgiving during this episode, as it reminds him of the time his parents got divorced. To appease everyone’s last-minute Thanksgiving dinner requests, Monica makes three types of potatoes: tater tots, lumpy mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes with peas and onions. When the group learns that the Underdog balloon escaped the Thanksgiving Day parade, they head to the roof to watch. Before leaving, Monica asks, “Got the keys?” but Rachel interprets that as a statement, rather than a question, and leaves the keys behind. They end up getting locked out of the apartment and Rachel misses her flight to Vail. When they finally get back in, the Thanksgiving dinner is ruined. Everyone starts fighting as Chandler looks on and smiles, “Now this feels like Thanksgiving.” Ranking: Watch it just to remind yourself where Friends all started. Now that’s something to be grateful for.
7. “The One With the Football”: Friends Season 3, Episode 9
This entire episode centers around the six friends playing a game of football on Thanksgiving. Even though Ross and Monica “haven’t been allowed” to play the game since Monica broke Ross’ nose in the sixth annual Geller Cup, they split into teams and play anyway. Rachel is horrible at football and barely included in any of the plays; however, with the final throw of the night, she catches the ball in an epic slow-motion scene. The episode is filled with a ton of hilarious one-liners, but compared to the rest of the Thanksgiving episodes, this one is a little less action-packed. Ranking: Worth a watch for a reset while deciding whether to go for seconds.
6. “The One With Chandler in a Box”: Friends Season 4, Episode 8
While making Thanksgiving dinner, Monica opens the freezer and gets hit in the eye with a piece of ice. She debates whether to call the eye doctor—her ex-boyfriend, Richard (Tom Selleck). Finally, she calls and finds out Richard is out of town, so she goes in to see the on-call doctor—who happens to be Richard’s son, Timothy (Michael Vartan). Monica finds him cute and invites him over for Thanksgiving dinner, even though Rachel says it’s “sick, sick, sick, sick.” Chandler spends the majority of this episode in a wooden box, as it’s his punishment for kissing Joey’s girlfriend, Kathy (Paget Brewster). Kathy shows up at the apartment to speak with Chandler, who doesn’t say a word while sitting in the box, but sticks his finger out of the peephole to wave goodbye to her. Ranking: Definitely put it on your watch list, but it’s fine if you’re in your food coma for it.
5. “The One With the Late Thanksgiving”: Friends Season 10, Episode 8
In Friends’ final Thanksgiving episode, Monica and Chandler reluctantly host Thanksgiving dinner. Phoebe and Rachel enter Rachel’s daughter, Emma, in a baby beauty contest after learning that there’s a $1,000 prize. The contest runs over and Phoebe and Rachel show up late to dinner, only to see that Joey and Ross are also late, as they went to a Rangers game. By the end of the episode, we learn that Monica and Chandler are expecting a baby through the adoption agency. Ranking: Joey covered in cranberry sauce is enough to make this one a Thanksgiving classic. Plus, Monica’s and Chandler’s good news will remind you of what to be thankful for.
4.“The One Where Ross Got High”: Friends Season 6, Episode 9
In this episode, Rachel’s in charge of the only Thanksgiving dessert, so she decides to make a “traditional” English Trifle. The only problem is, she reads the recipe wrong and makes half-English Trifle and half-Shepherd’s Pie, making “beef sautéed with peas and onions” as one of the layers in her dessert. Joey tells everyone to pretend they like the dessert regardless of the odd ingredients, in an effort to preserve Rachel’s cooking confidence. Monica hasn’t told her parents that she’s living with Chandler because they don’t like him. Back in college, to cover up the fact that he was smoking weed, Ross lied to his parents and blamed Chandler, and they’ve hated him ever since. Monica and Chandler beg Ross to tell his parents the truth about what happened so they can be open about their relationship. “What is with everyone? It’s Thanksgiving! Not truth day,” Ross says. Ranking: So much Thanksgiving fun in this one. A must-watch!
3. “The One With Rachel’s Other Sister”: Friends Season 9, Episode 8
Christina Applegate won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work as Rachel Green’s sister, Amy, in this episode—and rightfully so, as this episode is pure gold. After not seeing each other for a year, Amy shows up at Rachel’s door on Thanksgiving. They end up spending the day together after Amy gets dumped by her married boyfriend. “It’s almost not even worth dating married guys!” she whines. Throughout the episode, Amy insults just about every single character, but takes the cake with her interaction with Phoebe, who she keeps calling Emma. When Phoebe corrects her by saying her own name out loud, Amy quips, “Why does she keep making that noise?” The dinner turns ugly when Amy learns that she isn’t at the top of Rachel’s list to take care of Emma if something were to happen to her and Ross. They end up physically fighting with arm swings and hair pulling, and knock Monica’s expensive china dishes off the table. Ranking: Watch it while you’re still coherent, before the meal. Christina Applegate is a comedic genius—and we’re grateful for it.
2. “The One With All the Thanksgivings”: Friends Season 5, Episode 8
Also dubbed, “The One With The Thanksgiving Flashbacks,” this episode takes a look back at Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Ross, Chandler and Joey during their Thanksgivings from previous years. In one of the flashbacks, Rachel and Chandler join Monica, Ross and their family for Thanksgiving dinner back in 1987. Chandler, with his “Flock Of Seagulls” hairstyle, calls Monica fat. But the following year, she gets her revenge. In 1988, a slimmed-down Monica wants to make Chandler pay for insulting her, so she tries to seduce him but accidentally drops a kitchen knife on his toe. He gets rushed to the hospital but instead of putting his toe on ice, Monica grabs a baby carrot, so the toe is unable to be repaired. In present day, Chandler, who has started dating Monica, is horrified to learn the true reason why he’s missing the tip of his toe. To make it up to him, Monica shows up at his apartment door with a turkey on her head. This is when he accidentally tells her he loves her for the first time. Ranking: The flashbacks make this episode a must-watch. Rachel’s nose, Chandler’s hair—we’re thankful for it all.
1. “The One With the Rumor”: Friends Season 8, Episode 9
Brad Pitt, who was Jennifer Aniston’s real-life husband at the time, played a hilarious, Emmy-nominated guest role in the greatest Thanksgiving episode that Friends ever made. In the episode, Monica invites Pitt’s character Will over for Thanksgiving as they used to be friends in high school. He shows up looking better than ever after losing 150 pounds. While he’s excited to see Monica and Ross, he becomes furious with the thought of seeing Rachel. Apparently, Rachel was mean to him in high school and he never got over it. He refers to his two greatest enemies in life as “Rachel Green and complex carbohydrates.” Later in the episode, it comes to light that Will and Ross created an “I Hate Rachel Club” in high school and even started a rumor that she had both male and female reproductive parts. Rachel is horrified that not only did people think she had a “teeny weeny,” but that Ross, who she was expecting a baby with at the time, would be involved in a hate club about her. Ranking: Better than the stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy combined. Next, looking to buy holiday gifts for a Friends fan? Try this helpful gift guide.
