Sign in to your ScreenRant account
After two decades as the reigning Thanking sitcom king, Friends had its autumnal crown stolen by Brooklyn Nine-Nine, whose Thanksgiving episodes are full of holiday specificities. Over its long run, Friends had several iconic Thanksgiving episodes. These holiday episodes have Friends’ trademark blend of humor and heart. Rewatching Friends’ Thanksgiving episodes has become an annual tradition for some fans. However, while these episodes are set during Thanksgiving, the holiday is not intrinsic to the plot – something that Brooklyn Nine-Nine addresses.
Friends was a hang-out sitcom that followed the lives of six New Yorkers. Its Thanksgiving episodes are famous but often have a generic quality, as the drama could easily be shifted to a different holiday without finessing much. By contrast, Andy Samberg's boyish detective Jake Peralta led the cast Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police procedural with exquisitely specialized Thanksgiving episodes. Ending after eight seasons, Brooklyn Nine-Nine produced five incredible Thanksgiving episodes where the holiday feels integral to the plot. Brooklyn Nine-Nine was particularly adept at using Thanksgiving to introduce and intertwine extended family members, making it the true king of holiday comedy.
Friends’ Thanksgiving Episodes Are Iconic But Don’t Tackle The Traditions Of The Holiday
Friends Goes For Spectacle Over Specificities With Thanksgiving Episodes
Each season of Friends features its dedicated Thanksgiving episode. The image of Monica wearing a turkey over her entire head in season 5, episode 8, “The One with All the Thanksgivings” is one of the most enduring images of the entire series. However, these holiday episodes primarily use Thanksgiving as a setting for large gatherings or special guest stars, with little in the story intrinsically tied to Thanksgiving traditions.
Brad Pitt guest stars in season 8 as a former high school friend who reveals Ross Geller jealously helped spread a nasty rumor about Rachel Green back in their school days. Christina Applegate stars as Rachel’s sister who stirs up drama about the custody of baby Emma. These guest star roles, which happened in the later seasons of Friends’ run, make for fun episodes but do not tie back to Thanksgiving specifically.
Season 1, Episode 9 | The One Where Underdog Gets Away | Everyone gets locked out of Monica’s apartment when they rush to the roof to watch Underdog balloon break free from the Thanksgiving parade. |
Season 2, Episdoe 8 | The One with the List | The One with the List - Ross, torn between his feelings for Rachel and his new girlfriend, makes a pro-con list of each woman. |
Season 3, Episode 9 | The One with the Football | Ross and Monica’s competitive sides are ignited when they revive the Geller Cup. |
Season 4, Episode 8 | The One with Chandler in a Box | During Thanksgiving dinner, Joey punishes Chandler for making a move on Joey’s ex. |
Season 5, Episode 8 | The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks | Everyone in the gang shares the story of their worst Thanksgiving. |
Season 6, Episode 9 | The One Where Ross Got High | Chandler learns Monica’s parents don’t approve of him since Ross lied about Chandler smoking weed that was actually Ross’ in college. |
Season 7, Episode 8 | The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs | Phoebe sneaks a dog into the apartment, to Chandler’s displeasure. Ross is obsessed with naming all 50 states. |
Season 8, Episode 9 | The One with the Rumor | An old high school friend (Brad Pitt) is invited to Thanksgiving dinner, where he reveals that he and Ross started a nasty rumor about Rachel in their school days. |
Season 9, Episode 8 | The One with Rachel’s Other Sister | Rachel's sister (Christina Applegate) shows up unexpectedly at Thanksgiving dinner, raising sensitive questions about baby Emma’s custody. |
Season 10, Episode 8 | The One with the Late Thanksgiving | Monica and Chandler are coaxed into hosting Thanksgiving, but when everyone shows up late, they’re locked out of the house. |
Because Friends centers on six friends who see each other daily, having large group gatherings does not feel special in the way a holiday episode should. Even the iconic moment of Monica cheering Chandler up by wearing a turkey on her head is an apology for an unrelated event: years earlier while trying to seduce him on Thanksgiving, Monica accidentally cut off his toe. Friends uses Thanksgiving as a setting for some incredible comedy-of-error flashbacks, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine ultimately does a better job of integrating Thanksgiving into its plot lines.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Episodes Embrace The Quintessential Nature Of Thanksgiving
The Procedural Nature Of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Takes Pause To Celebrate Turkey Day
Brooklyn Nine-Nine embraces the unique nature of Thanksgiving, often focusing on family gatherings and new introductions. In season 4, Andy Samberg’s boyish detective, Jake Peralta, is so nervous about meeting his girlfriend’s father that he rents a new car after cleaning his old one “didn’t take.” Joe Lo Truglio’s lovable foodie weirdo, Charles Boyle, arrives with a live turkey to prepare for the feast, creating a moral divide between those who want to eat it and those who want to spare it. Even the C-plot ties into the Thanksgiving spirit, as two characters place a bet on the annual Thanksgiving Dog Show.
Season 1, Episode 10 | Thanksgiving | Amy hosts the squad for Thanksgiving dinner hoping to ask Captain Holt to be her mentor, but Holt and Jake are called away on a case. |
Season 2, Episode 7 | Lockdown | Jake is given command of the precinct at Thanksgiving when the discovery of a mystery powder puts the squad on lockdown. Holt and Terry work from Terry’s house, while his brother-in-law in town for the holiday belittles Terry. |
Season 3, Episode 8 | Ave | When Terry is away solving a case, Jake must coach Terry’s wife through childbirth at the precinct on Thanksgiving. |
Season 4, Episode 7 | Mr. Santiago | Jake is nervous to meet Amy’s father at Thanksgiving, and at first they clash but ultimately solve a 20-year-old case together. Boyle brings a live turkey to Amy’s holiday meal, dividing the squad between those who want to feast and those who want to pardon the bird. Holt loans Pimento money, but he blows it gambling on the Thanksgiving Dog Show. |
Season 5, Episode 7 | Two Turkeys | Jake and Amy, newly engaged, introduce their parents, but it gets competitive quickly when Amy’s mom brings her own turkey. Holt’s favorite Thanksgiving pie is stolen and he interrogates the whole squad to find the culprit. |
The following Thanksgiving, Jake is now happily engaged. Jake and his fiancée use the holiday to introduce their parents, a milestone for any couple to combine the families. Jake’s future mother-in-law arrives with a backup turkey “just in case,” immediately agitating Jake's mother who only requested stuffing. The tension escalates until both fathers are competitively carving the two turkeys, culminating in Jake’s father accidentally severing his finger. In the face of a true emergency, both families finally come together. Through these storylines, Brooklyn Nine-Nine fully makes Thanksgiving intrinsic to its holiday episodes in a way that Friends never quite captures.
From the creative minds of Dan Goor and Michael Schur comes Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police comedy series set in the NYPD's fictional 99th precinct. Headed by the comedically serious Captain Raymond Holt and protagonist Jake Peralta, the detectives of the 99 deal with burglaries, drug deals, and oddities in New York City, occasionally steering into real-world issues surrounding police perception and social concerns in the 2010s and earlier. Each detective has their own unique personality that makes them stand out, creating endearing dynamics that helped the show thrive for eight seasons.
Release Date September 17, 2013
Seasons 8
:quality(85):upscale()/2023/11/02/731/n/1922729/5b5445f96543cf5c21d629.18264167_.jpg)
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/11/07/789/n/1922153/38527352672cff57bff864.87043841_.png)
English (US) ·