The 10 Best New Year’s Eve Episodes from Your Favorite TV Shows
New Year’s Eve can be a huge production. What with finding the perfect sequined dress, making sure your fake eyelashes stay in place, and finding a party that’s not overly populated, it seems like half of the evening is spent in a state of panic…not to mention you’re expected to have a picture perfect kiss. This year, skip the hoopla of New Year’s Eve parties and instead, invite your besties over to watch NYE episodes of your favorite sitcoms. It might not be as glamorous as dancing at a party with 500 sweaty strangers, but we promise you won’t regret it.
1/10Friends
Episode: “The One with the Routine”
Monica and Ross somehow nab an invitation to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and realize it’s the perfect time to bust out their coordinated dance routine from 8th grade. They manage to get up on a platform to perform, but once they start busting moves, it’s hard to tell if people are laughing at them or with them. Meanwhile, Joey tries to work up the courage to kiss his hot roommate, Janine (played by megababe Elle Macpherson)...but it’s going to take more than his signature “How you doin’?” to win her over.
2/10The Office
Episode: “Ultimatum”
Having Michael as a boss seems stressful, especially around the holidays. On top of being amped up on Christmas cheer, Michael is anxiously waiting for his love interest, Holly, to return to the office to see if she and her boyfriend, A.J., got engaged over the holiday. Pam tries to help everyone stick to their New Year’s resolutions, but when Michael finds out that Holly is still with her boyfriend even though they’re not engaged, he starts sabotaging everyone’s idealistic plans (and force feeds Kevin a bunch of broccoli — it’s as uncomfortably hilarious as it sounds).
3/10The OC
Episode: “The Countdown”
If you grew up obsessed with The OC (or just watch it obsessively now as an adult) then at one point your life has probably revolved around Marissa and Ryan’s turbulent relationship. “The Countdown” focuses heavily on the Maryan storyline...will Ryan realize he loves Marissa before it’s too late? Or will she kiss someone else when the clock strikes 12?
4/10Gossip Girl
Episode: “The End of the Affair”
No matter how much you loved being looped in by Gossip Girl’s never-ending stream of scandals, you have to admit some of the storylines became pretty ridic toward the end of the show. In this season 5 episode, we find out through a series of flashbacks what really happened between Blair and Chuck after they were both involved in a car accident, as Blair reveals everything to Serena. Additionally, we find out Blair and Dan Humphrey have struck up an unlikely friendship (to Chuck and Serena’s dismay), Gossip Girl’s site is down, and Serena’s blog is getting heavily trafficked as a result. Although Blair is still engaged to someone else, Blair and Chuck begin to reconnect, while Dan and Serena share a New Year’s kiss that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat for the next scoop. It looks like some things never change, no matter the year. XOXO, Gossip Girl.
5/10How I Met Your Mother
Episode: “The Limo”
There’s so much pressure to have a perfect New Year’s Eve, and no one feels that pressure more than Ted Mosby. So this year, instead of waiting for something awesome to happen, Ted is going to take destiny into his own hands. The entire HIMYM crew loads up into a stretch limousine rented by Ted with Ranjit behind the wheel (duh) and attempt to hit five parties in the course of three hours. Everything seems to be going well and the crew is listening to Barney’s unbeatable “Get Psyched” mix (is it available on Spotify yet?), and then our favorite friends run into Moby. And you’re not going to not pick up Moby on New Year’s Eve, right? Unfortunately, “Moby” is actually not famed electronic artist Moby, but a gun-wielding lunatic — oops. No matter how you felt about the series’ finale, you have to give it to the HIMYM writers, they always kept things interesting.
6/10That '70s Show
Episode: “That ‘70’s Finale”
Caution: Don’t watch this episode of That ‘70s Show unless you have a box of tissues at hand. As the final episode of the series and the final day of the ‘70s, the gang prepares to welcome in the 1980s while saying goodbye to each other. Kitty and Red try to decide whether or not they should move to Florida, Jackie and Fez try to work out their feelings for one another, Hyde is up to his usual pranks, Kelso returns from Chicago to spend New Year’s Eve with his friends, and Eric and Donna are reunited for one last kiss. This episode will wish you were hanging out down the street with your best friends.
7/10Modern Family
Episode: “New Year’s Eve”
Jay wants to give the family a New Year’s Eve treat to remember, so he brings Gloria, Claire, Phil, Cam, and Mitchell to a hotel in Palm Springs that he used to frequent. Unfortunately, the hotel Jay remembers from his youth is much nicer than the actual hotel in present day. The Dunphys try to make the best of a dumpy situation, with Phil and Claire seeking out a secret hot spring, Cam and Mitchell hitting up the hotel bar, and Gloria falling asleep. Jay is left to play poker with other lonely hotel guests, which is not exactly the New Year’s festivities he pictured. Back in Los Angeles, Alex and Haley are left to babysit Luke, Manny, and Lily — a job that might be more than they can handle.
8/1030 Rock
Episode: “Klaus and Greta”
What do James Franco, Tina Fey, and Julianne Moore have in common? They’re all in 30 Rock’s “Klaus and Greta” episode. After waking up on New Year’s Day and realizing he left an embarrassing message on his high school sweetheart’s answering machine (Julianne Moore plays Nancy, the sweetheart with a Boston accent so bold, she could break the Curse of the Bambino), Jack recruits Kenneth to help remedy the situation. Liz Lemon finds herself in a mess of her own creation after outing her cousin as gay to their entire family, which leads him to move into her NYC apartment. In an equally hilarious but slightly more random subplot, Jenna agrees to fake a relationship with James Franco to squash rumors that he’s been romantically involved with his Japanese body pillow. Yep, you read that correctly, like an actual body pillow.
9/10Friends
Episode: “The One with All the Resolutions”
Yes, another episode of Friends made the cut. But we couldn’t omit the episode in which Ross wears leather pants (Google it, seriously). All of the friends make a resolution, Chandler pledges to not tease any of the friends for an entire week, Rachel vows to give up gossiping, and Joey wants to learn to play the guitar. Monica and Phoebe make resolutions too, but I can’t stress enough that this is the episode that Ross wears leather pants on a date and legitimately thinks it’s a good idea. I repeat: David Schwimmer shimmies in and out of leather pants while on a date and it is one of the most glorious moments in televised history.
10/10Louie
Episode: ‘New Year’s Eve”
While this episode of Louie might not be the most festive way to kick off the new year, it certainly packs an emotional punch. After sending his daughters off to spend Christmas with their mother and stepfather, Louie receives a call from his sister (expertly played by Amy Poehler) who urges him to come spend the rest of the holiday season with her in Mexico. Louie agrees, and happens to run into Liz (an old flame) on the bus to Mexico. Liz’s nose starts bleeding, and she unexpectedly dies at 11:59 p.m. With the new year looking bleak, Louie ditches his trip to Mexico and impulsively buys himself a plane ticket to China. Although he’s even more afraid of being alone now than ever, Louie ends up uniting with a Chinese family as “Auld Lang Syne” plays, which hints at the fact that even if we can’t be with the ones we love during the holidays, we never have to be alone.
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