Thanksgiving Movies on Netflix to Watch as You Deal With Your Food Coma
Updated April 15 2020, 10:13 p.m. ET
Picture it: It’s Thanksgiving Day. You have eaten your turkey. Indulged in several pieces of pie. Expertly dodged awkward interactions with well-meaning but nosy family members. What do you do next? Sure, you could turn on the TV and watch the Lions lose (as is tradition), but what if you’re in the mood for something else? We’ve got you covered. Here are some of the best Thanksgiving movies on Netflix right now.
Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving movies on Netflix.
Thanksgiving and football go together like mashed potatoes and gravy. If you don’t feel like watching the actual football game (or if you’re still craving football content after the game is over), check out Undefeated. It’s an incredible documentary that follows the struggles of a Memphis high school football team as they try to break a 110-year losing streak. This Oscar-winning documentary will probably make you cry.
While not strictly Thanksgiving-themed, Julie & Julia is all about food, and so is Thanksgiving, so they really go hand in hand. If you think you can handle seeing a bunch of delicious food right after eating a bunch of delicious food, this is a great pick! If you haven’t already seen it, be prepared to feel some real feels!
A young woman brings her girlfriend home for Thanksgiving and plans to come out to her family about their relationship, but her attempts are thwarted when her (male) roommate shows up and everyone thinks he’s her boyfriend. This small-budget comedy had a quiet release last year but features some pretty big stars — Cloris Leachman and Bruce Dern are both in it!
If your family actually likes each other and you find yourself craving some of the holiday drama people are always talking about, check out Krisha! The titular character is a woman who has been estranged from her family for 10 years but decides to reunite for Thanksgiving. It, uh, does not go well.
There are also some great Thanksgiving movies that aren’t on Netflix.
Netflix doesn’t have every movie ever, and we’re gonna be honest: They’re missing some key Thanksgiving-centric films. We recommend Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (available to rent on Amazon), Pieces of April (available on Prime Video and Hulu), and if you can handle some Pauly Shore, there’s also Son in Law (available on HBO GO).
Fantastic Mr. Fox doesn’t technically take place during Thanksgiving, but we can’t help but get Thanksgiving-y vibes from it, anyway — you can rent it on Amazon. Same goes for When Harry Met Sally, which is actually a great movie to watch on every holiday and also on literally any other day of the year
There are also plenty of TV shows on Netflix that would be perfect for Thanksgiving.
Gilmore Girls is the undisputed champion when it comes to fall-themed TV shows. Check out Season 3, Episode 9 and Season 6, Episode 10 if you want the Thanksgiving-related episodes.
And don’t forget Friends! There’s a Thanksgiving-themed episode in every season — it’s either episode 8 or 9 for each of the show’s 10 seasons.
Finally, we declare that Thanksgiving Day is actually the perfect day to watch the holiday episodes of The Great British Baking Show. Yes, they are technically all about Christmas, but you’ve gotta start planning all the treats you’re going to enjoy over the next couple of weeks, right?
