Insights / Feature / Gobble Up These Sitcom Turkeys: Top 5 Thanksgiving Episodes
Feature / 27th November 2024
Thanksgiving marks both the official start to the holiday season and perennial prime material for sitcom special episodes. Family-based shows tend to capitalize on this theme most of all—be that blood-related families or families of friends. To celebrate all the tension with a side of cranberry sauce, Digital i has compiled the Top 5 Thanksgiving episodes for the most-streamed sitcoms, based on the following scoring:
Viewership: Total number of streams on major platforms in the U.S. across Netflix, Prime Video, Max and Disney+ from 2021 to the present day
Approval Rating: IMDB score
Loyalty Score: Average percentage of the episode that viewers watched
So, pile on the mashed potatoes and let’s get down to it:
In some ways, this classic episode mimics the Thanksgivings of streaming viewers everywhere, as the Gallagher family reaches an emotional peak of the season. Of course, it’s in the high-stakes Shameless universe, so Karen gives birth, Monica attempts suicide, and there’s a botched liquor store robbery where Lip leaves Mandy’s brothers holding the bag. With 19.5 million total streams (according to Digital i data), by far the most of all the Top 5, the episode clearly resonates. Though with the lowest loyalty score on the list at 96%, perhaps the show hits a little close to home for many viewers’ own Thanksgivings past: There is such a thing as too much family togetherness after all.
Rachel’s disastrous English trifle made us all feel better about our own Thanksgiving cooking mishaps. Who could forget Ross convincingly eating the beef and custard dessert while trying to convince Rachel it’s delicious, all to win back her heart? With a 9.1 IMDb rating, it’s just as beloved as the Shameless Thanksgiving episode that made it to #1. But with the lowest viewership of the Top 5 at 6.3 million streams, it’s one Thanksgiving that may get lost in the sweet potato shuffle.
Thanksgiving dinner is at the Wolowitz’s house in Season 7, where Sheldon shows off his football prowess to Howard’s father-in-law. Much to the dismay of Leonard, Peggy realizes she and ex-boyfriend Zack’s “fake” Vegas marriage years earlier wasn’t so fake after all. This episode gets high marks from Big Bang Theory fans, with the best Top 5 audience approval rating of 8.8. And with a loyalty score of 99%, it is a testament to the show that fans watch (almost) all the way to the end.
The episode that spawned the phrase Bangsgiving, this New Girl was the one of the first Friendsgivings to rank a sitcom holiday special. The concept for the show’s dinner was that everyone had to bring a date for each other—and, naturally, hijinks ensue. With a high loyalty score of 98% that nearly ties it with the #1 episode, this show had 9.3 million streams, resonating with singles everywhere.
A peek into New York City during the holidays, this episode includes a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade storyline, guest star Jon Voight, and a classic Midnight Cowboy camera shot. Though it had the second-highest rate of streaming in the Top 5 at 12.1 million viewers, the show didn’t meet the audience approval marks of the others, with its 8.1 IMDb rating.
Still, like every memorable Thanksgiving special, the holiday episode brings the gang back into each other’s lives for escalating drama over one more helping of turkey. And for that, we are forever thankful.
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