Whether you celebrate the annual turkey roasting with family or friends, if all else fails TV will have your back when it comes to enjoying the holiday season. Some may keep with the tradition of tuning in to NBC to watch the 98th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and The National Dog Show. While others might be rooting for their favorite football team on FOX, there are plenty of marathons to be grateful for too. Film fans can feast upon Planes, Trains & Automobiles, It’s a Wonderful Life and Yellowstone all day long thanks to CMT, E! and Paramount Network.
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The main course for this evening of festivities includes a magical Harry Potter Marathon, a prehistoric marathon of the Jurassic Park franchise, and more. Just like a Thanksgiving menu, there are a lot of options to choose from when crafting your ultimate TV and movie marathon. Take a look at the full Thanksgiving Day schedule below.
Movie Marathons
Harry Potter – USA Network
If there is any movie series that displays the importance of family and friends, it’s Harry Potter. Whatever house you come from, there is always room for the wizarding world at the table.
The marathon begins at 7:00 AM ET on Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 28th) with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and concludes on Black Friday with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 at 4:40 PM ET.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles – CMT
Welcome to the CMT Marathon, may I help you? The Steve Martin, John Candy comedy has been a Thanksgiving staple since 1987 and has been warming hearts for years with its slapstick comedy and memorable moments.
CMT will begin its run of Planes, Trains & Automobiles at 11:00 AM ET and repeat until 10:15 PM ET.
RELATED: Planes, Trains and Automobiles Earned Its R-Rating Because of One Scene
Christmas Classics – TNT
While some believe it’s too early to celebrate Christmas, others see Thanksgiving as the first instance to get into the holiday spirit. For those looking to start the winter season right, TNT has just the perfect movies to watch.
Starting with Fred Claus at 9:00 AM ET, the channel will play Elf at 11:30 AM ET, then repeat the two movies before launching into their 24-hour marathon of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at 6:00 PM ET.
Jurassic Park – HBO
Carve out some time during your Thanksgiving day to revisit the classic film series: Jurassic Park. It’s strange to consider that these movies are popular at this time of year, but life found a way.
The marathon will begin at 10:49 AM ET with the first film and end with Jurassic World at 4:45 PM ET.
Marvel – FX
Popular franchises have a seat at the dinner table this time of year and it looks like Marvel will be stopping by. While the core of these movies is about the action, the ones showcased here have a focus on the importance of family and friends.
The marathon starts at 7:00 AM with three Thor movies (Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Love and Thunder), a 2:30 PM ET showing of Guardians of the Galaxy then finishing at 5:00 PM ET with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
It’s a Wonderful Life – E! Network
As the temperatures drop, viewers find warmth within the cold by watching the feel good classic 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for the life you’ve been given, which is why this movie has been a part of the holiday tradition for centuries.
E! will begin its marathon at 12:00 PM ET and continue until 9:00 PM ET.
The Godfather Trilogy – AMC Network
Don’t disrespect the family this Thanksgiving by missing out on this classic. The Godfather is considered one of the best movies of all time, and yes some of the movie does take place during the holiday season, which seems like the perfect excuse to tune in.
The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II will play back-to-back starting at 9:00 AM ET and wrapping up with The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone on 11/29 at 2:00 AM ET.
The Hobbit Trilogy – Syfy Network
Similar to Harry Potter, some viewers want to watch the franchises that mean the most to them. The films are fun to watch with the whole family and could be useful to catch up on before the release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
The trilogy will start with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at 12:57 PM ET and continue until 8:00 PM ET with a showing of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
TV Showings
Yellowstone – Paramount Network
With Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 starting to roll out, viewers may want to reminisce about original episodes (or refresh their memories). In 2021, Paramount Network started an annual tradition of playing the entire show from the beginning on Thanksgiving Day.
Paramount will begin the Yellowstone marathon with S1 E1 – Daybreak at 9:00 AM ET and continue until December 1st when the latest episode will premiere at 8:00 PM ET.
Thanksgiving TV Episodes – TBS
Sitcom fans will be thankful to know that there will be no need to scour the depths of your streaming services to find every Thanksgiving episode there is. TBS has compiled all the themed episodes from Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and Friends for your viewing pleasure.
The Modern Family episodes begin at 10:00 AM with Friends starting at 12:30 PM and The Big Bang Theory finishing things off at 6:00 PM ET.
What does your Thanksgiving TV tradition look like? Are you planning on watching any of the marathons listed above? Let us know on X, Instagram and Facebook!