10 Best Halloween-Themed Sitcom Episodes, Ranked
Did you feel that breeze? The sound of leaves crunching beneath your feet? Take out the sweaters and spice your coffee with pumpkin because October is here, which means Halloween is coming. One of the best ways to get into the mood is to watch something that will give you all the thrills, chills, and laughs.
Nothing beats seeing your favorite characters dressed in costumes and getting into spooky situations. Sitcoms use the holiday to their full creative advantage to be as ridiculous as they can be. Over the years, the theme has allowed some of the most hilarious sitcom episodes to exist. Community portrays the study group fighting for their lives in a zombie outbreak caused by radioactive taco meat. Abbott Elementary makes the teachers deal with sneaky, sugar-craving students. Will gets the family cursed by a medium in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And the gang in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia uses the holiday to act raunchier than ever.
Everyone’s entitled to a good scare just as much as good laughter. That’s why we’re looking at ten of the most hilarious Halloween-themed sitcom episodes and ranking them from funny to funniest.
10. Frasier, "Halloween" (Season 5 Episode 6)
Nothing says Frasier like a literary-themed Halloween Ball thrown by Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Roz (Peri Gilpin) tells Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) she might be pregnant, but he can’t tell anyone, so he must keep it a secret! Frasier fails to do so after Daphne (Jane Leeves) mentions a car accident, which he mistakes as Roz’s pregnancy and assumes she knows. After Frasier accidentally reveals the secret to Daphne, Niles overhears the two talking and assumes Daphne is the one who’s pregnant—and that Frasier is the father. Niles (dressed as Martin) is devastated, drunkenly proposes to Daphne, and challenges Frasier (dressed as Geoffrey Chaucer) to a duel. This classic, ghastly episode is peak comfort television at its finest.
Available to stream on Hulu
9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, "Halloween" (Season 1 Episode 6)
Halloween in New York City is pure chaos—drunken adults parade sidewalks coated with vomit and candy wrappers, but the officers of Brooklyn Nine-Nine are ready to handle this cursed evening. Amy (Melissa Fumero) makes it clear from the start of the episode that she hates the holiday, but Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) is confident he can change her mind. Jake (Andy Samberg) bets Holt (Andre Braugher) that if he can steal his Medal of Valor before Halloween is over, he has to do all of his paperwork and announce he’s “an amazing detective/genius.” If Jake fails, he’ll work the next five weekends without overtime. Holt is certain Jake will never be able to steal the medal, but the immature rookie has some tricks up his sleeve, making this one of the most entertaining episodes of the season. It’s also the start of an annual tradition for the comedy.
Available to stream on Netflix
8. black-ish, "Jacked o'Lantern" (Season 2 Episode 6)
The Johnsons pull off another iconic family group costume—the Obamas—in this Halloween-themed episode of black-ish. Dre’s (Anthony Anderson) nieces and nephews terrorize Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Andre Jr (Marcus Scribner), and twins Jack (Miles Brown) and Diane (Marsai Martin) by roughhousing them too hard. Still, he thinks this will toughen up his “soft” kids. He’s in for a scare when his cousin June Bug (Michael Strahan), who used to beat him up, decides to make a surprise visit for Halloween. The family also has to deal with Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) and her hatred for Halloween—instead of candy, she hands out mini Bibles to trick-or-treaters.
Available to stream on Hulu
7. The Office, "Halloween" (Season 2 Episode 6)
Michael (Steve Carell) faces his biggest nightmare on Halloween when he finds out he has to fire one of his employees. On the other side of the office, Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) prank a Sith Lord Dwight (Rainn Wilson) by using his name for various job applications. What makes this episode so much better than other episodes is watching the characters be themselves while dressed in ridiculous costumes. Humor is used to poke fun at corporate America and the ridiculousness of having to work on Halloween.
Available to stream on Peacock
6. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, "Hex and the Single Guy" (Season 4 Episode 7)
Things get freaky when the Banks family attends a séance so Hilary (Karyn Parsons) can get in touch with her dead ex-fiancé who died in a bungee jumping accident. When Will (Will Smith) calls the medium a fake, he and the entire family are cursed. Nobody believes in the curse at first, but when Uncle Phil (James Avery) is suspended from the bench for taking bribes, Ashley (Tatyana Ali) is attacked by a tennis ball machine, Carlton’s (Alfonso Ribeiro) iconic Macaulay Culkin-inspired hair turns rainbow, and Hilary is engaged to DJ Jazzy Jef, Will realizes he needs to set things right with the medium. But when he visits the medium, he is faced with a terrifying discovery. This Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode balances thrills and humor, making it a comical classic.
Available to stream on Max
5. Abbott Elementary, "Candy Zombies" (Season 2 Episode 6)
Every teacher’s worst nightmare on Halloween is candy during school hours. All hell breaks loose when a student dressed up as Thanos steals all the candy meant to be given out at the end of the day and starts distributing it. The students turn rambunctious and attempt a coup by locking themselves in the gym with all the candy away from the teachers. Janine (Quinta Brunson) dressed as James Harden is a hilarious highlight of the episode, along with one of Barbara’s (Sheryl Lee Ralph’s) most iconic lines: “I’m going to a screening of Rocky Horror at my church. They take out all the cursing, all the references to sex and sexuality. It comes in at just under 26 minutes, and it is a hoot!” Jacob (Chris Perfetti) is spooked by a story Mr. Johnson (William Stanford Davis) tells him about a spirit that haunts teachers who don’t throw out their trash, Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) stuns in a Scarlet Witch costume, and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) dresses up as one of his all-time heroes, Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger.
Available to stream on Hulu
4. Superstore, "Halloween Theft" (Season 2 Episode 6)
When a crate of fruit goes missing, Dina (Lauren Ash), dressed in a very revealing cop costume, takes on the case and refuses to let anyone go until she finds out who the culprit is. Employees start to get antsy at Cloud 9 when no one is confessing and it gets closer to the end of the day. Superstore depicts the quirky megastore employees in a funnier, spookier light in this episode. Jonah (Ben Feldman), dressed as Brexit, and Cheyenne (Nichole Sakura), dressed as Pikachu, form a bond while gossiping about their coworkers. Plus, Amy (America Ferrera) grapples with the fact that her daughter doesn’t want to go trick-or-treating with her, Glenn (Mark McKinney) demands respect from Dina in his hotdog costume, and Garrett (Colton Dunn) is faced with his scariest dilemma yet—he finds Dina attractive.
Available to stream on Peacock
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "Who Got Dee Pregnant?" (Season 6 Episode 7)
The gang is frightened after finding out Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is pregnant, and the father could be Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney), or Charlie (Charlie Day). The guys are forced to recall the night they were “browned out,” or as Mac explains it, “when you drink so much that everything goes brown. It’s not as severe as a blackout, ’cause I remember bits and pieces.” With this episode, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia lives up to its raunchy explicit humor. It also features some of the series’ most memorable and meme-able moments like Frank (Danny DeVito) dressed as Spider-Man, when he was actually “Man-Spider.” It’s hilarious to watch each character dramatically romanticize themselves as they go around in a circle trying to recall what happened. Moments like Charlie hating his costume because it’s “too sexy,” Mac running around as Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) from Lord of the Rings, and Dennis living up to his serial killer trope stay true to the characters’ personalities while simultaneously earning some laughs.
Available to stream on Hulu
2. Modern Family, "Halloween" (Season 2 Episode 6)
As Claire (Julie Bowen) prepares to make the Dunphy house the spookiest it’s ever looked for Halloween, Phil (Ty Burrell) finds out their neighbors got divorced and fears the same thing might happen to him and Claire. Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) hates Halloween because of a traumatic childhood experience, and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is traumatized when he finds out he’s one of the very few employees at work who dressed up for Halloween. The clever humor of Modern Family is what makes this arguably one of the best Halloween-themed sitcom episodes of all time. Divorce, being the only costumed employee at work, and never being corrected for mispronouncing a word—”A gargle is a gargle,” says Gloria (Sofía Vergara) when referring to a gargoyle—are all real fears played for comedy that anyone can find relatable.
Available to stream on Hulu
1. Community, "Epidemiology" (Season 2 Episode 6)
“Well, I’m a sexy Dracula,” says a shirtless Troy (Donald Glover) with a paper toilet seat cover hanging from his neck just minutes before the taco meat Dean Craig (Jim Rash) bought from an army surplus store for the Greendale Community College Halloween party starts turning students into zombies. Britta (Gillian Jacobs) hides her zombie bite, while Annie (Alison Brie) crushes on a student named Rich dressed as a banana. A zombified Pierce (Chevy Chase) gnaws on a student’s arm while dressed as Captain Kirk, Chang (Ken Jeong) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) make out as Peggy Flemming and Glenda the Good Witch, Jeff (Joel McHale) is cool even when he’s a zombie, and Troy and Abed’s (Danny Pudi) nerdy friendship saving the day are all hilarious examples of what makes this Community episode a cult comedy Halloween classic.
Available to stream on Peacock
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