Thanksgiving is always an emotional time of year. Some people are seeing their beloved family for the first time all year in a celebration of love and togetherness, while others are dreading having to call their uncle out on his casual-to-obvious sexist comments. Even those families that fall into arguments during Thanksgiving can agree — there's no more effective way to watch the Thanksgiving weekend pass by than parking in front of the television and enjoying the variety of marathons and parades that air around the holidays. So, what's the TV schedule like this Thanksgiving weekend?
The safest Thanksgiving Day bet is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is celebrating its 90th year! If balloons, floats, and many consecutive hours of Matt Lauer don't quite fit what you're looking for, many channels are also offering special Thanksgiving blocks of programming, marathoning some of their best programs for anyone who wants something to watch while they drift off into a turkey-induced food coma. With so many options and only so much that the whole family can agree upon, here are just a few of this Thanksgiving's television listings that are sure to keep the whole family feeling focused and friendly all weekend.
FXX - 600-Episode Marathon Of The Simpsons
If you're looking for sheer volume, look no further than FXX. Starting at noon ET on Thanksgiving, the network is airing the first 600 episodes of The Simpsons in a row – which places the end of the marathon a whopping 13 days after the start of the marathon. The series' exceptional early seasons will be filling up the majority of Thanksgiving weekend, so dedicate some time to re-familiarizing yourself with America's premiere animated family.
Esquire - Parks & Recreation
If these trying political times has you and your family down, then Esquire has exactly what you need to fall in love with politics again — local politics in Pawnee, Indiana that is. Starting at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Esquire will air most of the show's third season and all of its fourth season on Thanksgiving Day, including the campaign between Leslie Knope and Bobby Newport that has some alarming similarities to the 2016 election.
TNT - Back To The Future
Have time travel on the mind recently? If so, then TNT is the network to tune into on Thanksgiving. They're be spending most of their day airing the entire Back To The Future trilogy. Great Scott, indeed!
IFC - Rocky Horror Picture Show
If your family isn't interested in watching someone traditional on Thanksgiving, why not watch one of the most progressive cult films in history on repeat? IFC will be playing Rocky Horror Picture Show on loop for nearly 24 hours during Thanksgiving. "Why?" you may ask, to which IFC's response is likely "Why not?"
Netflix - Gilmore Girls
Sure, technically you can marathon anything on Netflix, but with Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life set to premiere on Black Friday, there's no better way to spend Thanksgiving than getting caught up on the residents of Stars Hollow before they return to television for the first time in 10 years, and then watching their latest adventures.
Watching television with the family has joined turkey and pumpkin pie as a great Thanksgiving tradition. There's no better way to start the tail-end of the awful, horrible, no good year that has been 2016 than by spending time watching shows you love with the people you love and taking a quick break from the world.
Images: Fox (2); Giphy (3)
