TV Characters We Would Invite to Thanksgiving Dinner & Those We Wouldn’t
Thanksgiving brings people together for a day of celebration and feasting, and TV is a big part of the day.
Whether you’re tuning in first thing in the morning for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show on NBC, or whether your attention is won later by the Thursday night football games, there’s a bevy of titles to entertain you (or provide your background noise while you cook). For sitcom fans, TBS is hosting a sitcom marathon featuring Thanksgiving episodes from Friends, Modern Family, and The Big Bang Theory this year.
Being the TV lovers we are, we’ve been imagining what the holiday would look like with TV characters on the guest list. Here are the characters we would invite to Thanksgiving dinner and some that we most definitely wouldn’t.
Would Invite: Sydney Adamu from The Bear
Sydney is the most important guest because she would take over the kitchen and make the greatest Thanksgiving dinner any of us has ever had.
Would Invite: Eric from Sex Education
That big smile and laugh are absolutely necessary at my Thanksgiving dinner table. He’d also be the best person to get up early and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with (we’d both fangirl over the Rockettes).
Would Invite: Verna from The Fall of the House of Usher
Hear me out! She wouldn’t have a reason to kill me or my guests, and imagine the centuries worth of stories she could tell… Every Thanksgiving gathering needs someone with a little bit of edge.
Would Invite: Chandler from Friends
He’s the funniest guy in any room. And should we need help getting someone’s head out of a turkey, he knows what to do.
Would Invite: Barbara Howard from Abbott Elementary
Barbara is warm and funny, and she can get along with folks of any age. You know she’d bring an excellent side dish (if not the best one), plus Eric from Sex Education would be obsessed with her.
Would Invite: Ted Lasso & Coach Beard from Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso is the nicest guy around, and Coach Beard is filled to the brim with fun facts. Watching their reactions to the Thursday night football game would be a delight.
Would Invite: Charlie Cale from Poker Face
Who else would call people out on their bullshit?
Would Invite: Bertha Russell from The Gilded Age
Because she brings the bad b*tch energy.
Would Invite: Guillermo from What We Do In the Shadows
Guillermo deserves a care-free meal for once, and Barbara and Bertha could give him great career advice. His current boss is really draining him.
Would Invite: Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death
The Gentleman Pirate would be fabulously dressed, set a stunning table, and teach plenty of great party games.
Would Invite: Magnum & Higgins from Magnum P.I.
Every Thanksgiving gathering needs a cute couple in attendance. Plus, anything that goes missing in the havoc of the day would be found in minutes by this pair.
Would Invite: Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel
Eric needs a buddy close to his age, and Kamala is a delight. She’d keep the mood lighthearted and fun, and she would give people a run for their money in any outdoor sport we play before dinner. Who better to go long with a football than someone with a magically extendable arm?
Wouldn't Invite: Benson & Stabler from Law & Order: SVU/Organized Crime
There’s too much history between these two, and they’d make their unaddressed romantic tension everybody’s problem.
Wouldn't Invite: Beth Dutton from Yellowstone
Look, I love Beth, but causing a disruption at dinner is kind of her thing.
Wouldn't Invite: Amy & Danny from Beef
I don’t trust these two can leave their anger issues at the door.
Wouldn't Invite: Bev Keane from Midnight Mass
She would spend the entire night using Bible verses to shame people who aren’t religious or Christian. She’s not coming within 10 feet of my house.
Wouldn't Invite: Literally Anyone from Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon
A little family drama is tolerable at Thanksgiving, but not that much.
Wouldn't Invite: Will Schuester from Glee
He would try to perform a cover of the “Beans Greens Potatoes Tomatoes” rap, and I can’t have that.
Wouldn't Invite: The Roys from Succession
Roman would say wildly offensive things and Shiv and Kendall would be powerless to stop him (and eventually, they would find it funny). Connor would be gloomy, Logan would yell “f**k off” and storm off when he loses a game, and Tom wouldn’t stop networking.
Wouldn't Invite: Bart & Homer Simpson from The Simpsons
Choking at the dinner table should happen on accident.
Wouldn't Invite: The Teens in the Wilderness from Yellowjackets
I know what they did in those woods. Sorry, girls, I know you’re hungry. But I feel it’s obvious why you can’t come to dinner. Let’s circle back when you’re older and have grown out of your… special diets. Then again, maybe not even then. I don’t trust Shauna with any dishes.
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