Best Halloween TV Episodes of All Time: 'Modern Family, 'Black-ish' and More
It’s spooky season! Fall is filled with traditions such as apple picking, carving pumpkins and sipping cider, but it’s also the perfect time to watch Halloween hijinks from our favorite shows.
Friends mastered the genre when it aired “The One With the Halloween Party” in 2001. The episode had the sitcom’s trademark jokes with the added fun of the group in costumes. Lisa Kudrow revealed during a Reddit AMA in 2014 that the story holds a special place in her heart.
“The Halloween party that Sean Penn appeared in,” she said at the time when asked about her favorite Friends episode. “For a lot of reasons. Number one was it was the first show we shot after 9/11. And that whole week, while driving in L.A., people would pull up, and give me a very sad look, and a quiet ‘Thank you’ for making them laugh.”
However, Friends director Kevin Bright told Metro in November 2018 that Penn was one of the sitcom’s more difficult celebrity guest stars.
“I think the least successful one was Sean Penn on the show,” he said at the time. “Just the style of the production wasn’t what he was used to, doing a show like that, so there was a little deer in the headlight effect.”
Boy Meets World‘s 1998 episode “And Then There Was Shawn” is another Halloween TV classic. Although the episode originally aired in February, it gained a cult following after airing in October for years after its premiere. The episode was an homage to the teen slasher film genre, which were wildly popular in the late ’90s due to films such as Scream (1996). Jennifer Love Hewitt also made a cameo appearance in the episode after skyrocketing to stardom in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
The episode’s director, Jeff McCracken, told Yahoo TV in October 2016 that she landed on the show because of her relationship with Will Friedle.
“That came about because Will was dating Jennifer at the time,” McCracken, 68, said. “So we told him, ‘Will, we’d love to have Jennifer on the show.’ It all worked out, Jennifer was a doll and she loved doing it. They broke up soon thereafter, but it was perfect timing for us. I hope the show wasn’t the thing that did it!”
Scroll down for some of the best Halloween episodes to watch this season.
Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) hits it off with a girl in a pumpkin costume at a Halloween party but loses her number. He goes to the same party every year looking for the girl, who he knows only as the "Slutty Pumpkin." Years later, Ted finds her and learns her name is Naomi (Katie Holmes). The pair briefly date but eventually discover they're incompatible. Monty Brinton/CBS
The Peanuts Halloween special has been a staple on TV since it first aired in 1966. Every year, Linus camps out in hopes of seeing the Great Pumpkin while Charlie Brown only gets rocks when he goes trick-or-treating. In 2020, the special moved to Apple TV+ marking the first year it wouldn't air on network TV. Giphy
Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica (Courteney Cox) decide to throw a last-minute Halloween party in one of the most memorable episodes from the sitcom. Chandler wears a pink bunny costume but Ross (David Schwimmer) steals the show in his “Spudnick” attire — a potato with a satellite on his head. Meanwhile, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) realizes she's not cut out for motherhood as she hands out candy to kids. Phoebe has her own adventure when she runs into her twin sister, Ursula, and meets her fiancé (Penn). Giphy
Claire (Julie Bowen) wants to have an epic Halloween celebration with her family at their house. The holiday brings up painful memories for Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) while Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) has a hard day at work. Gloria (Sofia Vergara) also struggles after Jay (Ed O'Neill) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) tease her about her accent. ABC/KAREN NEAL
The kids go trick-or-treating dressed as Ghostbusters when Will (Noah Schnapp) sees something suspicious. Meanwhile, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) misses Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) comes to grips with the death of her friend Barb (Shannon Purser). Netflix
The episode parodies the teen slasher genre with Cory (Ben Savage), Shawn (Rider Strong), Topanga (Danielle Fishel) and Angela (Trina McGee) getting trapped in the school with a killer. Scream queen Hewitt also makes a guest appearance as Jennifer Love Fefferman. YouTube
The employees celebrate Halloween with a costume contest at the office. Michael (Steve Carell) gets upset when Darryl (Craig Robinson) goes over his head to pitch an idea to corporate. Pam (Jenna Fischer) tries to find out why Danny (Timothy Olyphant) didn't call her back when they dated four years ago. Chris Haston/NBC
The group compete in their annual Halloween heist to decide who is Ultimate Human/Genius and Jake (Andy Samberg) tries to steal Holt's (Andre Braugher) Medal of Valor. YouTube
The Dean (Jim Rash) throws a Halloween party on campus where guests become sick after accidentally eating a hazardous substance. The sickness turns those affected into violent zombies and the study group must try to escape. Justin Lubin/NBC
Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) is forced to hand out candy to kids while Sam (John Francis Daley) is determined to have one last Halloween trick-or-treating before he gets too old. YouTube
Junior (Marcus Scribner) embarrasses Dre (Anthony Anderson) during a basketball game, which causes Dre to devise a master prank. The neighborhood later takes part in mischief night, where petty crimes are legal. ABC/Eric McCandless
Secrets from the past resurface when Vivien (Connie Britton) and Ben (Dylan McDermott) are visited by the former owners of their house. Tate (Evan Peters) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga) are harassed by bloody teens while on a date. Ray Mickshaw/FX
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) attends a Halloween party with Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Oz (Seth Green) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon), which turns into a night of terror. YouTube
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