Could there be a better show to marathon on Thanksgiving than “Friends?”
“Friends” is a classic show to watch on turkey day, since each season had an episode themed to the holiday. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a crowd-pleasing watch for the whole family too.
This year, it’s especially poignant, since Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, died at age 54 on Oct. 28.
All of his former co-stars paid tribute to him on Instagram, with Jennifer Aniston writing an especially heartfelt remembrance: “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’” she wrote. “Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
In the classic Joey and Chandler fashion, Matt LeBlanc cracked a joke in his tribute, writing, “I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me.”
Whether you want to pay tribute to Perry, or you just want to enjoy a “Friends”-filled holiday, here’s a ranking of the ultimate “Friends” Thanksgiving episodes.
10. “The One With the List“
This Season 2 episode happened shortly after Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Aniston) had their first kiss. Ross made a “pros and cons” list about pursuing a relationship with her – and obviously, things went sideways when she found it, and wasn’t too happy. It’s a fun episode, and Ross and Rachel’s epic roller coaster of a romance was a cornerstone of the series. But, although it has a Thanksgiving-themed subplot with Monica (Courteney Cox), this episode feels more “Ross and Rachel” centric. There are better episodes about the holiday.
9. “The One With the Late Thanksgiving”
In this Season 10 episode, Monica and Chandler try to get out of hosting Thanksgiving, Phoebe manipulates them into hosting it anyway, and they get annoyed when everyone is late, and Monica locks everyone out. It’s a fun episode, but it’s not the most memorable among the Thanksgiving episodes, and doesn’t have a colorful guest star.
8. “The One With Rachel’s Other Sister”
In this Season 9 episode, Rachel’s sister (Christina Applegate) comes to dinner and offends everyone. Chandler (Perry) wants Monica to use their wedding china for the meal, but Monica refuses. Meanwhile, Joey realizes that he was supposed to be at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) helps him come up with an outlandish excuse for why he missed it.
7. “The One Where Ross Got High”
In this Season 6 episode, Monica is keeping her relationship with Chandler a secret from her parents, because it turns out they blame Chandler for smoking pot in college, when Ross was the culprit. So, they try to convince Ross to fess up. Rachel also has a classic cooking disaster – relatable.
6. “The One With the Rumor”
In this Season 8 episode, Aniston’s then-husband, Brad Pitt, is a guest star. He plays Will, an old friend of Ross’ who comes to Thanksgiving, and turns out to hold a grudge against Rachel and created an “I Hate Rachel” club. Joey also puts on Phoebe’s maternity pants. It’s a classic episode, and Pitt is hilarious in it. But, the stunt casting of Pitt does steal the show from the core group (plus, the gag that Will hates Rachel was funny because Pitt and Aniston were a power-couple in real life — it loses its edge a bit and becomes darker once it loses that context).
5. “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs”
In this Season 7 episode, Rachel takes a date (her assistant, Tag, played by Eddie Cahill) to dinner, Ross and Chandler get into a competition to name all 50 states, and it’s revealed that Phoebe has been hiding a dog in her room, because Chandler has an aversion to the animal. It’s filled with classic shenanigans from the gang.
“The One With the Football”
In this Season 3 episode, the group decides to play football — and they find out why Monica and Ross both previously got banned because of their overly aggressive and competitive playing. It’s a fun episode and a change of scenery from taking place in one of their apartments, or in Central Perk.
“The One With Chandler In a Box”
In this Season 4 episode, Joey makes Chandler spend the day in a box (for the transgression of kissing his girlfriend). Monica has a romance with a doctor, and there’s a lot of drama around Secret Santa, since Ross is offended to realize that Rachel returns or exchanges gifts – and did that while they were dating. It’s a good episode if you’re a fan of the Joey and Chandler friendship.
“The One Where Underdog Gets Away”
In this Season 1 episode, Monica offers to host the first Thanksgiving dinner for the group of pals. A Thanksgiving skeptic, Chandler agrees to come only if it has his traditional meal of grilled cheese and funyons. There’s a side plot with Rachel trying to join her family’s ski trip, and they all end up stuck on the roof when they get locked out (after they go to watch an escaped Macy’s parade balloon). It’s a classic episode filled with funny moments, absurdity, and some heartwarming friendship.
“The One With All the Thanksgivings”
This Season 5 episode ranks No. 1 because it’s the classic episode where Joey gets a turkey stuck on his head, in one of the show’s most famous visuals. It’s also full of flashbacks to everyone’s past worst Thanksgivings, so it’s packed with fun bad facial hair (and the famous Monica fat suit). It’s got everything: humor (Monica puts a turkey on her head, too, in another iconic scene), and heart – since Chandler also comes out with a love confession for Monica.
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