TV shows that got you REALLY in the holiday spirit

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Thursday (28 November) is the most popular day of the year to watch Netflix and has been so since 2017.

But when watching any of the many shows available to stream, it’s worth remembering there’s more to Thanksgiving than mashed potato.

For anyone who missed the big day this year, we picked out the biggest episodes of the day for you – and some of the most talked about ones of all time too.

NFL Thanksgiving

Nobody’s made more people feel frayed after their Thanksgiving meal than Friends.

For the first five seasons of the show, Thanksgiving is no time for a holiday in traditional ways.

Happy and sad. Happy and sad. Happy and sad. Ross could hardly contain his nerves. Everyone knew they were celebrating Thanksgiving, but nobody actually cared.

Then it all goes wrong.

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On 1 November 2001, Jack (David Schwimmer) dumps Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), who starts to lose her temper at the sight of his beloved fur coat.

All hell breaks loose.

But Friends doesn’t stop there. Not long after, the lead characters realise what they lost is more than just a coat.

David Schwimmer recently reflected on the series.

“Everyone is in terrible pain. Everyone has lost something meaningful. And everyone understands that their whole lives have changed in a very quick way,” he said.

“And [we’re] watching this. It’s very cathartic.”

The Rachel on the train

Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) is always the star of the show.

In 2001, the iconic sitcom merged the annual Holiday with Thanksgiving in its Thanksgiving episode.

It didn’t take long for viewers to jump onto Twitter, united by their affection for Rachel’s iconic take on the churro.

Rachel: “Take the twirling churro you had sitting there” pic.twitter.com/bUKE2J4SJi — Kylie (@kyliestawalker) November 28, 2017

Last year, Aniston recalled the jokes being made as Friends began taping its final season.

“They always want to bring up the press, and if we’re not going to have press on set, if there’s no press on set, they’re like, ‘I don’t know how to joke about something?'” she said.

“It gets a little crazy, which is appropriate.”

Happy Friday…

This was also the first time Friends aired on UK screens.

One episode took on the lead up to the holiday, featuring a display of the illuminated Union Jack over New York.

The most viewed of the original 84 episodes? the Christmas episode The One With Ross and Rachel’s Wedding.

JK Simmons after death

Netflix’s LA studio really had its busiest day on Wednesday – watch out for the traffic on the 405.

However, when football was played in his native Los Angeles, Stars Wars actor JK Simmons launched into a hilarious impersonation of referee John Blount, while pretending to blow his whistle for a penalty.

(Warning: Contains adult language and references.)

The gang’s all here

We only went and changed the order a little.

Most talked about episode: We’re not sure whether it’s the slightly clumsy Bob’s Burgers character ordering a nachos bacon breakfast burrito.

But probably because the horror was seen all over Twitter.

The family gathered for the holiday.

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The lowest rating: In the National Football League, the very first Thanksgiving TV broadcast between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants garnered a 0.1 rating, meaning 1 million viewers.

The C-word and more

Television’s dominant blue language was at its peak on Thanksgiving Day – that’s on an episode that didn’t even make it to air in the US.

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Transparent creator Jill Soloway actually directed a comedy that did air on Thanksgiving in 2014 – Everything is Perfect When You’re a Vegetarian, which premiered that year.

Here, Jeff/Jeff’s (Martin Starr) new respect for Thanksgiving saw him try new cuisines – and dropping the C-word in his attempt to explore Jewish food.

HGTV host Tarek El Moussa celebrated the holiday in Hawaii during his rehab stint from all of his “illegal and grossly negligent, ongoing domestic violence incidents” with his wife, Christina, back in 2016.

The family, who finished filming Flip or Flop earlier this year, faced an astonishing amount of bad publicity when the abuse charges broke, and viewers were dismayed.

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