The 10 Best Thanksgiving Game Show Episodes, Ranked

Thanksgiving is a time for expressing gratitude and spending time with loved ones. But it’s also a time to sit in front of the TV after a hearty meal and enjoy some good old game shows! Holiday-themed TV is nothing new and while people love tuning into Thanksgiving sitcom episodes or movies, there’s just something extremely entertaining about Thanksgiving specials game show episodes — and that holds true even if you’re a king of bad Thanksgivings like the late Matthew Perry‘s Chandler.

During the holiday season, a lot of iconic TV game shows combine their existing high-stakes challenges with the holiday spirit and the result is always memorable. It’s always contagious. Whether it’s cooking up Thanksgiving meals or tackling holiday-specific trivia questions, there are plenty of game shows you can tune in to bring in the holiday cheer. And while it might not be possible to find the perfect episode to tune into right away, I have the perfect list of Thanksgiving-themed game show episodes for you to cozy up to, right next to your leftover turkey at midnight.

10 “Guy’s Thanksgiving Games”

‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ Season 22, Episode 9

Guy’s Grocery Games, hosted by celebrity chef Guy Fieri, is one of the most iconic cooking competition shows of all time. The format of the show features four chefs competing in a series of challenges designed to test their culinary skills under pressure. The catch is that all the ingredients they cook with can only include the ingredients Fieri chooses to stock in the set’s grocery store. With each challenge, Fieri throws in twists such as giving the chefs a limited budget to shop with or forcing them to limit themselves to just 5 items. The episode “Guy’s Thanksgiving Games” followed the same premise.

In this Thanksgiving-themed episode, Fieri gives the four chefs an empty cornucopia to fill with any ingredients they can to make two signature Thanksgiving sides. Considering the shape of the container, this was already proving to be a challenge for the chefs. But that’s when Fieri adds another twist by giving them a budget to stick to along with a special ingredient that must be incorporated into anything they cook. The episode is extremely exciting to watch, as the four chefs put a spin on classic Thanksgiving meals to win the $20,000 prize.

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9 “Medieval Poultry Challenge”

‘MasterChef Australia’ Season 5, Episode 47

Cooking shows are basically the leaders of Thanksgiving-themed game shows. They really know how to up the ante with Thanksgiving-themed challenges — and MasterChef Australia was no different. But for this special episode, the contestants had to go back in time and pretend as though they were throwing a Medieval Thanksgiving feast. The contestants were split into two teams and had to throw a feast using a range of poultry and game birds, including Turkey.

The teams also have to use herbs from chef Heston Blumenthal’s garden to create a meal that the judges would remember for a lifetime. But of course, the pressure in this episode is on, since the chefs have to prepare a feast that would normally take at least one entire day, in just a couple of hours. The chefs race against time as they cook the Turkey, preparing the stuffing and the side dishes. Safe to say that this episode will have viewers on the edge of their seats and get their mouths watering at the same time.

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8 “Thanksgiving Soup-er Stars”

‘Chopped Season 25’, Episode 1

Chopped is yet another fast-paced cooking competition that features four chefs competing against each other as they prepare an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert. However, the twist is that the chefs have a basket of four mystery ingredients that they need to incorporate into their dishes. But when you bring Thanksgiving food into the mix, things become complicated.

What makes this episode of Chopped, so special is that the competing chefs actually work at a soup kitchen, so they’re all deserving contenders for the prize. In this Thanksgiving special, each chef has to use Thanksgiving leftovers found in their baskets to come up with innovative appetizers, and the same goes for the entrée round. In the final round, the chefs have to use an ice-cream cake and candy to prepare their desserts. All in all, this is the perfect entertaining yet still heartwarming Thanksgiving watch.

7 “Fieri Thanksgiving Party”

‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ 31 Episode 7

For this Thanksgiving special, Guy Fieri brings in members of his own family to participate in a culinary showdown and impress him with their skills. The episode features the three youngest members of the Fieri family paired with all-star chefs as they take on the iconic Thanksgiving feast challenge.

The premise is already entertaining as it is, but Fieiri throws in a challenge and the contestants have to incorporate both pie and turkey in their appetizers and entrées. The pressure is also on because the teams have one hour to do all of this. What makes this episode all the more special is that the winning team earns money for their favorite charity. The episode is less about the competition and more about the spirit of giving back and spending quality time with your loved ones — which is what Thanksgiving is all about.

6 “14 Chefs Compete”

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Season 15, Episode 5

Nothing brings in the holiday cheer like Chef Gordon Ramsay yelling at a bunch of chefs about how incompetent they are. While most episodes of Hell’s Kitchen are high-pressure, this episode leans a little more on the fun side. Instead of centering it around one specific holiday, Ramsay decides to give the chefs a bunch of holiday meals to choose from. After dividing the chefs into teams of two, Ramsay tasks them with creating a massive holiday platter to represent The Fourth of July, Cinco de Mayo, and Mardi Gras.

Each team then had to prepare three dishes, one for each holiday, to prove their culinary skills and teamwork. The winning team was rewarded with a wine-mixing lesson and the losing team had to prepare for a grueling dinner service. While this episode isn’t directly linked to Thanksgiving, it gives a glimpse into what it takes to create dishes that can capture the spirit of celebration.

5 “Thanksgiving 4 Stunt Show”

‘Fear Factor’ Season 5, Episode 13

The Four-Stunt Show format in Fear Factor was a 90-minute special that featured four stunts instead of three. The first episode in the format aired in Season 3 and then became a staple for the show’s special-themed episodes, including Family Fear Factor, Twins Fear Factor, and, of course, Thanksgiving Fear Factor.

The Thanksgiving 4 Stunt Show episode ran for two hours and featured some of the show’s craziest challenges. To mimic a Thanksgiving feast, contestants had to eat nasty Thanksgiving side dishes, including mashed potatoes with maggots and sheep brain pie. As if that wasn’t enough, they were also made to climb up a cargo net being dragged behind a ship, walk off a plank on the side of the ship, and try to break free from a weighed ball while they were submerged underwater. This Thanksgiving special is definitely not for the faint-hearted but makes for a fun family watch between dinner and bedtime.

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4 “Thanksgiving Special”

‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ Season 5, Episode 31

Who Wants to be a Millionaire is one of America’s most-loved TV game shows. However, the show’s Thanksgiving special in 2002 marked the first time children were allowed to participate in the game with their parents. This was the perfect twist on the trivia game show to celebrate the holiday. The Family Edition episode of the show was aired in two parts and featured pairs of parents and children, including Rob and Micah Aldrige, Lisa and Colin Williamson, and Peter and Abby Abide. The biggest winners of the special episodes were Peter and Abby Abide from Mississippi, who walked away with $125,000 dollars.

The family-friendly dynamic of the Thanksgiving special episodes was a welcome change to the otherwise serious trivia show. While the game followed its standard format and featured access to traditional lifelines such as Phone a Friend and Ask the Audience, watching parents and their children work through the questions together is a heartwarming sight to see.

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3 “Thanksgiving Special”

‘Deal or No Deal’ Season 3, Episode 15

Deal or No Deal is yet another one of those game shows that are perfect for every occasion. While the format of the game show is simple, it’s extremely thrilling to watch because of its sheer unpredictability. Each episode features 26 numbered briefcases holding cash ranging from $0.01 to $1,000,000 or even more at times. The contestants pick one briefcase at the beginning of the game and eliminate others to reveal what they contain. After each round, The Banker comes in and makes an offer to the contestant, which is when they must decide whether to accept the deal or not.

During the Thanksgiving special, these briefcases didn’t contain just cash amounts. Some of them were full of Thanksgiving-related items such as gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and even turkey to represent the lower-value prizes. The contestants featured a woman from Indiana who played for $1 million and a man who doubled the stakes and competed for a $2 million grand prize.

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2 “Family Feast”

‘Cake Boss’ Season 6, Episode 13

Cooking competition TV shows and Thanksgiving are a match made in heaven because there are so many fun things that can be incorporated into the challenges — and Cake Boss is no different. Because what better way to celebrate the festive season than making one-of-a-kind cakes for clients? However, this Thanksgiving special episode features the host of the show, Buddy Valastro, stepping out of his comfort zone and preparing a traditional Italian-inspired Thanksgiving feast.

Later on, Valastro and his bakery crew make a giant hyperrealistic turkey-shaped cake to serve as the centerpiece of their feast. The episode breaks away from the show’s usual fast-paced format and focuses on Valastro’s relationship with his family and his team as they celebrate the holiday season.

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1 “Know or Go”

‘The Ellen Show’

The Know or Go segment on The Ellen Show debuted back in 2006 and quickly became a fan-favorite. The premise of the game was simple, the contestants are standing on a platform and have to answer a series of trivia questions. If they answer incorrectly, they are dropped through a trapdoor right beneath their feet. The segment on the famous talk show would often be aired during the holiday season with Ellen DeGeneres asking the contestants holiday-themed trivia.

While Thanksgiving-themed Know or Go Episodes weren’t an annual tradition, there are several seasons of the show that incorporated the game as part of their holiday celebrations over the years. The 2007 segment in particular is remembered for its memorable questions about Thanksgiving and other holiday traditions, along with general trivia.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is not currently available for streaming in the US.

Keep Reading: The 10 Worst Thanksgiving Sitcom Episodes, Ranked