Thanksgiving can be exhausting. If you’re not traveling great distances to get home, you’re preparing your own humble abode for a gaggle of holiday visitors, and when your whole clan finally sits down for dinner, you spend the evening awkwardly catching up with relatives you haven’t seen all year and gorging yourself on foods guaranteed to induce a mild coma. With that in mind, several television networks are offering Thanksgiving lineups that should make your inevitable descent into a sleepy, vegetative state much more pleasant. Lucky for you, we here at RT have gone through the trouble of cataloging some of the more notable programming available this year, so grab your remote, tuck yourself into your favorite snuggie, and drift into your cranberry dreams to the flicker of these Thanksgiving broadcasts:
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The CW, Nov. 27, 8pm
The CW kicks off the festivities properly on Wednesday with John Hughes’ classic 1987 Thanksgiving comedy starring Steve Martin and John Candy.
Cops Marathon
Spike TV, Nov. 28, beginning at 9am
If you feel like spending Thanksgiving watching police officers bust a bunch of turkeys, you’ll get plenty of opportunities during this 12-hour marathon.
Friends Marathon
Join Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Monica and Chandler for some good laughs and a visit back to the 1990s!
Harry Potter Marathon
ABC Family, Nov. 28-30
ABC Family is famous for their 25 Days of Christmas programming, but this year, they’re starting before Thanksgiving with a Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas. Over Thanksgiving weekend (November 28-30), ABCF will broadcast all day marathons of Harry Potter leading up to the network premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 2 on Sunday night.
Castle Marathon
TNT, Nov. 28, 10am-11pm
Castle and Beckett are out to catch the bad guys, so you can enjoy your turkey day feast. Pass the mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving With Your Godfather
AMC, Nov. 28, beginning at 11:30am
Make him an offer he can’t refuse. Check out two back-to-back showings of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II as you cut the turkey.
Home for the Holidays Movie Marathon
The Hub, Nov. 28, beginning at 4pm
The Hub is hooking up the whole crew with some family-fun movies including Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco.
SyFy Thanksgiving Weekend Marathon
SyFy, Nov. 28, beginning at 8am
SyFy is bringing you Bond, Trek, and Indiana this Thanksgiving. Starting on November 28-29, they will air classic James Bond films. Between Nov. 30-Dec. 1, you can catch eight of the ten Star Trek films. And ending the weekend, Dec. 1 at 8pm, is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
ABC, Nov. 28, 8pm
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of this 1973 Peanuts special with Charlie and the whole gang and start the holiday season off right!
Lady Gaga & the Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular
ABC, Nov. 28, 9:30pm
What could be more random than Lady Gaga and the Muppets in a special together? This 90-minute special will feature holiday favorites and some of Gaga’s latest hits.
Hitchcock Marathon
AMC, Nov. 29, beginning at 9am
If you’re looking for a Hitchcock fix this Thanksgiving, AMC is hooking you up with 11 hours of films from the Master of Suspense himself, including: Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho and The Birds.
Shrek Marathon
TBS, Nov. 29, beginning at 9:45am
If you’re feeling stuffed from all the fixings on turkey day, hang out with Shrek and the gang for a marathon of the ogre’s first three films: Shrek, Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third. (Tough break, Shrek Forever After diehards.)
Day After Thanksgiving Movie Marathon
TNT, Nov. 29, beginning at 12pm
Forget Black Friday. Veg out and catch some awesome action films including: 300 and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Star Wars Marathon
Spike TV, Nov. 29, beginning at 2pm; Nov. 30, beginning at 12pm
Spike will be airing the prequel trilogy on both Friday and Saturday, but on Saturday, they’ll cap it off with Episode IV.
