Let’s be honest: Halloween is going to be lame this year. It’s too bad that coronavirus had to swoop in and destroy most of 2020, because Halloween falls on a Saturday and there’s going to be a rare full moon! But just because you have to stay home and stay safe doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in some spooky season viewing.
While you could spend your screentime watching a horror movie, current events have terrified us enough and we could really use some laughs. These TV Halloween episodes are just what the doctor ordered. Whether you like sitcoms, animated shows, or sci-fi, there’s something entertaining for you here among TV’s top Halloween episodes of all time.
Cover Photo: NBC
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TV Halloween Episodes
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'Friends: The One with the Halloween Party'
Nobody does holidays like the cast of Friends. In this memorable episode, the gang throws a costume party and is joined by Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula, and her fiance (Sean Penn).
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'Community: Epidemiology'
At a college costume party thrown by the Dean, students eat mystery meat sourced from an Army surplus store and turn into zombies as a result in this ridiculously entertaining episode.
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'Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Halloween'
This series did more than one Halloween episode during its run, but you can't beat the first. The story hinges on a bet between Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) that hilariously goes awry.
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'Curb Your Enthusiasm: Trick or Treat'
Larry refuses a pair of trick-or-treaters candy, inspiring them to seek revenge in this spooky season episode.
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'How I Met Your Mother: Slutty Pumpkin'
An adorable Katie Holmes guest stars in this episode as the titular Slutty Pumpkin, who Ted meets at a costume party. She writes her number down for him on a Kit-Kat wrapper, which he promptly misplaces. He then returns to the Halloween party every year in the same hanging chad costume hoping to see her again. Aw.
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'Parks and Rec: Greg Pikitis'
Ann (Rashida Jones) throws a Halloween costume party which turns out to be lackluster until Tom (Aziz Ansari) shows up.
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'The Office: Halloween'
Of all the Halloween episodes on The Office, this one takes the (pumpkin) cake. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) must fire someone by the end of the day on Halloween, and when he does, revenge is not far behind.
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'The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror V'
The Simpsons are usually silly, but they can be downright scary when they want to be. This episode includes scream-worthy segments "Time and Punishment," "The Shining," and "Nightmare Cafeteria."
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'Stranger Things: Trick or Treat, Freak'
This episode is chock full of '80s Halloween nostalgia, as evidenced by the Ghostbusters costumes. Though the foursome is precariously close to too old to be going door to door, they do anyway, and witness something unsettling.
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'30 Rock: Stone Mountain'
Two words: Peppy Bismilk. Kenneth Parcell's (Jack McBrayer) hometown of Stone Mountain, Georgia, is the setting of this episode in which Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) travel to scout out a new actor for The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan (TGS) while the cast and crew make Halloween preparations back at home.
