"Thanksgiving" is the tenth episode of the horror black comedy series ''

Scream Queens A scream queen (a wordplay on ''screen queen'') is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream king is the equivalent for men. Notable scream queen examples include ...

''. It premiered on November 24, 2015 on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. The episode was directed by

Michael Lehmann Michael Stephen Lehmann (born March 30, 1957) is an American film and television director known for directing the dark comedy '' Heathers''. Early life and education In 1978, Lehmann graduated from Columbia University.

and written by

Brad Falchuk Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating the television series ''Glee'', ''American Horror Story'', '' Scream Queens'', and '' Pose'' with Ryan Murph ...

. The episode features special guest star

Chad Michael Murray Chad Michael Murray (born August 24, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and former model. He played the lead role of Lucas Scott in The WB/ CW teen drama series '' One Tree Hill'' (2003–09, 2012), and recurring roles as Tristin DuGray on '' ...

as Brad Radwell, the older brother of Chad Radwell (

Glen Powell Glen Thomas Powell Jr. (born October 21, 1988) is an American actor and screenwriter. He began his career with small roles on television and in films such as '' Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' (2003) and '' Fast Food Nation'' (2006). Powell acted in t ...

). The rest of the Radwell family are played by guest stars

Alan Thicke Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...

Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American actress. From 1983 to 1990, she played Stephanie Vanderkellen in the TV series ''Newhart''. The role garnered her critical acclaim, including seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations ...

Patrick Schwarzenegger Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993) is an American actor. He is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. He began his career playing minor roles in the early 2000s, and has since starred in the television s ...

, and

Rachele Brooke Smith Rachele Brooke Smith (born November 7, 1987) is an American actress and dancer. She has starred in several films such as '' Center Stage: Turn It Up'', '' Bring It On: Fight to the Finish'', '' Atomic Shark'', Legend of the White Dragon, and man ...

. As this is the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

special episode, the episode centers around the main characters' activities during Thanksgiving. The episode was watched by 1.98 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Chad takes Chanel to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Hester arrives unexpectedly. Chad tells his family that Hester is his "sober coach," claiming that he has a drinking problem. A fight ensues. After enduring shabby treatment from the Radwell family, Chanel apologizes for trying to kill Hester and then proceeds to tell off each of the Radwells, ending with Chad, and telling him she never wants to talk to him again. Gigi spends Thanksgiving with Red Devil in their hotel room. Chanel #3 goes to spend Thanksgiving with her adopted family, but is so disgusted by how arrogant and insane they are that she goes back to campus, where she spends the holiday with Dean Cathy Munsch and fellow students. As Chanel goes to uncover the turkey, it is revealed that instead of holding the turkey, the platter is holding Gigi's head.

Production

On September 11, 2015, Ryan Murphy announced that

is joining the cast of ''Scream Queens''. He portrayed Thad Radwell, the younger brother of

's character Chad Radwell. On,

was cast as Brad Radwell, the older brother of Chad.

and

were cast as The Radwells' parents. They all made their guest appearance in this episode.

Gary Grubbs Jon Gary Grubbs (born November 14, 1949) is an American character actor who has appeared in 178 credited shows and films since the 1970s and is still working steadily. He is best known as Captain Steven Wiecek in ''For Love and Honor'' (1983-19 ...

and

Faith Prince Faith Prince is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations. Life and career Prince wa ...

also guest starred in this episode as Chanel #3 (

Billie Lourd Billie Catherine Lourd (born July 17, 1992) is an American actress, best known for starring as Chanel #3 in the Fox horror comedy series '' Scream Queens'' (2015–2016) and for her roles in the FX horror anthology series ''American Horror St ...

)'s adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Swenson.

appears as Muffy St. Pierre-Radwell, the wife of Chad Michael Murray's character Brad.

Reception

Ratings

"Thanksgiving" was watched live by 1.98 million U.S. viewers and received a 0.8/3 rating/share in the adult 18-49 demographic.

Reception

"Thanksgiving" received positive reviews from critics. LaToya Ferguson of ''The A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A−, citing "Again—and I can’t stress this enough—the episode is fun. Humor is apart icof that, but it’s really an enjoyable episode to watch from top to bottom." IGN's Terri Schwartz gave the episode 8.5 out of 10 and said, "Scream Queens was losing me for a while, but the twist that Wes is the father of the bathtub girl's twins genuinely surprised me, and added a fun new, personal layer to the Red Devil Killer(s) mystery. Add that to a fun game of who-dunn-it and the introduction of the absolutely hatable Radwells and this was a great return to form for the FOX series."

References

{{Portal bar, Comedy, Speculative fiction/Horror, Television 2015 American television episodes Scream Queens (2015 TV series) episodes Television episodes directed by Michael Lehmann Television episodes written by Brad Falchuk Thanksgiving television episodes