New Year’s is often the odd one out when it comes to holiday season programming. While many households keep the TV on in the background of Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa give us lots of time at home to watch classic and contemporary faves with our families, New Year’s is usually spent out on the town. Beyond that, the production schedules on many shows dictate winter hiatuses that leave the ends and beginnings of the year out altogether.

Still, there have long been TV writers who make creative use of the tropes of the holiday — namely, exaggerated resolutions, excessive drinking and midnight kisses. Some have even taken advantage of all the symbolism by writing New Year’s episodes as finales. And thanks to omicron and its cousins, a lot of us will have more couch time than usual to watch those stories this New Year’s. So in between writing out your 2022 goals and setting a countdown clock with your quarantine-mates, take some time for Variety‘s 15 best New Year’s TV episodes of all time.

An honorable mention goes to “Marcus Watkins,” the penultimate episode of Season 2 of “Love Life.” The episode, which just premiered this year, spans a year of time focused on Marcus’ (William Jackson Harper) pain and growth while enduring the events of 2020 in solitude. He begins his year at a New Year’s Eve party, finally having processed his divorce from Emily (Maya Kazan) and his breakup with Mia (Jessica Williams) enough to feel optimistic about life for once. But 2020 soon does to him what it did to all of us. He stocks up on antibacterial spray, begins to work from home in March, and tells off his racist boss and quits his job in June. He endures crushing loneliness and a touch of self-hatred through it all. But after his sister’s (Punkie Johnson) tiny, masked-up outdoor wedding in August, he finally has a breakthrough, about both his own imperfections and those of the people around him. On Dec. 31, 2020, he attends a different kind of New Year’s party: He pops champagne at 9 p.m. and falls asleep on the couch before the clock even strikes 12, having nodded off with a smile on his face because finally, he’s no longer alone.

  • 30 Rock, 'Klaus & Greta'

    (Season 4, Episode 9)
    Jack (Alec Baldwin) and Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) quickly climbed to the top of the “favorite friendships in ’30 Rock’ list,” and this episode is a great example of how their opposing dynamics work so well together. After leaving a drunken message on Nancy’s (Julianne Moore) voicemail on New Year’s Eve, Jack enlists Kenneth to sneak into her house and find a way to erase the tape. (Yes, Virginia, this episode is old enough to feature landlines.) In doing so, Kenneth is able to work out that Nancy has feelings for Jack (even though he struggles with other pieces of technology). Elsewhere in the episode, Liz (Tina Fey) allows her young cousin to stay with her after she outs him at their family festivities, and Jenna (Jane Krakowski) enters into a fake relationship with James Franco (playing himself) for publicity.

  • Big Mouth, 'Re-New Year's Eve'

    (Season 5, Episode 10)
    You could say this about virtually any moment of “Big Mouth,” given that it’s an adult animated comedy where hormone monsters guide pre-teens through puberty, but “Re-New Year’s Eve” goes completely off the rails. As the final episode of the fifth season, which saw our protagonists experience hate for the first time, New Year’s sees them desperate to right their wrongs and make up with their friends again. Devin (June Diane Raphael) and DeVon (Jak Knight), Bridgeton Middle’s it-couple, throw a black tie New Year’s party to renew their vows (yes, they’re married, don’t think about it for too long), giving Nick (Nick Kroll), Andrew (John Mulaney), Jessi (Jessi Klein), Missy (Ayo Edebiri), Jay (Jason Mantzoukas), Matthew (Andrew Rannells) and Lola (Kroll) a venue to hash it all out — to varying degrees of success. The highlight is when Nick realizes how his angst has hurt himself and others and calls out his hate worm Walter (Brandon Kyle Goodman), who inadvertently brings Nick with him to the previously unseen Monster World in a fit of rage. Nick finds his way to the complaints office for a strangely meta and self-referential meeting with the man in charge of all his big feelings: “I’m Nick Kroll, creator of ‘Big Mouth,’ and I guess, like, grown-up, real-life you! It’s a very big swing. We’ll see if it works.” Uncomfortably, it does.

  • Bojack Horseman, 'Old Acquaintance'

    (Season 5, Episode 10)
    Like many “Bojack” episodes, this New Year’s edition spins the concept of “good” and “bad” right on its head, and just in time for the new year, as Bojack (Will Arnett) and Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) attempt to get Bojack the lead in a new movie, resorting to some unsavory methods to do so. Meanwhile, firm partners Rutabaga Rabitowitz (Ben Schwartz) and Vanessa Gekko (Kristin Chenoweth) assure the pair that they’ll get the part since they’re the “good guys.” By the end of the episode, to no one’s surprise, Bojack and Carolyn lose the deal, juxtaposed with Rutabaga and Vanessa celebrating their own win. “You gotta love a happy ending!” says Rutabaga. Appropriate for this reflective time of year, this episode explores the universality of a happy ending, an outcome that won’t always be reserved for your own life’s main characters. It’s instead a subjective one. Decentering yet grounding, “Old Acquaintance” may not be the most jolly addition to this list, but it’s an important one.

  • Everybody Hates Chris, 'Everybody Hates New Year's Eve'

    (Season 4, Episode 10)
    It’s New Year’s Eve in Brooklyn, and traffic is unbearable. Julius (Terry Crews) hops out of his truck to find the source of the gridlock when he learns that all the cars have stopped because a man has crawled to the edge of the George Washington Bridge with plans to jump off. Against his better judgment, Julius joins the man and tries to convince him that life is worth living as they both sit inches away from a watery grave. But it all works out: The man agrees not to jump and Julius becomes a hero, even getting a key to the city from the mayor. Meanwhile, back at home, Tonya (Imani Hakim) has downed handfuls of instant coffee granules to aid her in a bet with Drew (Tequan Richmond) that she’s capable of staying up all the way until midnight, and Rochelle (Tichina Arnold) prepares the black eyed peas and 20-dollar bills essential to her New Year’s traditions while barring Chris from going to Times Square to see the ball drop unless he finds a responsible adult to take him. Finally, he realizes he can tag along with his crush Tasha (Paige Hurd), her mother Peaches (Tisha Campbell) and Peaches’ boyfriend Malvo (Ricky Harris). The night isn’t without its turns, including an accident that dooms Chris’ family to a year of bad luck, but “Everybody Hates New Year’s Eve” marks a rare big win for Chris, whose perfect midnight kiss makes it “the best night of [his] life.”

  • Frasier, 'RDWRER'

    (Season 7, Episode 12)
    There were a lot of worries leading up to the new millennium, and chief among them was where to ring in the celebration. For Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), those concerns grow after learning the chic venue they planned to visit burned down and the alternative, a wine club, is hundreds of miles away without any open flights. This turns into a road trip from hell for the Cranes, first because Martin (John Mahoney) gets under their skin even worse than usual in such cramped quarters and then because Niles gets back in the wrong Winnebago at a rest stop. Needless to say, it is one of the most memorable New Year’s experiences as the comedy of errors that ensues includes a police chase and an additional bout of stowing away.

  • Friends, 'The One With All the Resolutions'

    (Season 5, Episode 11)
    Each of the six titular friends make individual New Year’s Eve resolutions that end up as varying levels of interesting stories. Monica’s (Courteney Cox) idea to take more pictures of everyone is something you don’t need to see play out more than once to get it, for example, but Chandler (Matthew Perry) agreeing not to make fun of his friends, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) agreeing not to gossip, and Ross (David Schwimmer) deciding to do one new thing each day each end in hilarious results. The episode has become more iconic for Ross donning a pair of leather pants on a date — attire that proves to be very ill-advised after he goes to the bathroom and can’t get them back on, resulting in him trying powder and lotion (which forms a paste!) before giving up and walking home pants-less. But the way Rachel’s resolution ties into the overall secret-relationship-between-Chandler-and-Monica arc of the season is what makes this episode brilliant on another level.

  • Friends, 'The One With the Routine'

    (Season 6, Episode 10)
    Making fun of the Gellers’ nerdiness is always a surefire way to get a laugh on “Friends,” and learning they were SUPER into “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years” provides that in droves. Joey (Matt LeBlanc) gets invited to a taping of the New Year’s Eve television extravaganza by his dancer roommate Janine (Elle Macpherson), and when Ross and Monica find out, they can’t contain their excitement. They end up snagging tickets too and, desperate to get on camera, decide to resurrect their titular dance routine from when they were kids. It’s honestly not the kind of thing that words can do justice, but it is one of the most memorable moments of the entire show’s decade-long run.

  • How I Met Your Mother, 'The Limo'

    (Season 1, Episode 11)
    Too many television shows try to fabricate elaborate party celebrations for this holiday — and, well, this one is no exception. But the best moments here come when the five central characters are sitting together in the back of the titular limo. Ted (Josh Radnor) rents the transportation to take his friends around New York City, planning to hit five parties in the three hours before the clock strikes 12 and then return to the best of the five for the midnight moment. It’s a lot of maneuvering, with some special guests along the way (such as guest stars Kathleen Rose Perkins and Marshall Manesh), often backed by the beginning of Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) “Get psyched” mix. It should be obvious that none of the parties are all that exciting and New York traffic thwarts them in some ways, too, so they end up in the limo when the years change. But they’re all together, and Ted and Robin (Cobie Smulders) even share a promised kiss, despite her having a different boyfriend at this time in the story.

  • Living Single, 'Let's Stay Together'

    (Season 5, Episode 13)
    “Living Single” wraps up its series with an emotionally loaded New Year’s Eve. The episode opens with Max (Erika Alexander) content and at peace with her decision to become a single mother with the help of a sperm donor — until she learns that the donor she matched with is none other than Kyle (T.C. Carson), her frenemy-turned-lover-turned-ex. She panics and resolves to keep it a secret from him, but Khadijah (Queen Latifah), Overton (John Henton) and Synclaire (Kim Coles) throw an impromptu party to lure the two back together. Meanwhile, Synclaire and Overton prepare to move to Hollywood for Synclaire’s dream job and Khadijah finds the spontaneity she needs to make long-distance with Scooter (Cress Williams) work out. The brownstone is empty, and single life is over!

  • My So-Called Life, 'Resolutions'

    (Season 1, Episode 16)
    This episode sees 1994 turn into 1995 with incremental steps forward for some characters as they all vow to make changes in the new year. Angela (Claire Danes) wants to get out of her own head more, while Sharon (Devon Odessa) wants to slow things down sexually until she’s really in love, Rickie (Wilson Cruz) wants to find a place where he belongs, and Jordan (Jared Leto) seems to take his schoolwork more seriously. Individually, there is a lot to unpack with each character’s specific intentions and therefore arc in the episode and what it means for them going forward in the series, but undoubtedly the most emotional piece of the story is Rickie’s. A place to belong can have so many layered meanings, and for some, him being back home with his family would be the answer, but remembering how bad their fight was that led him to leave ahead of the holidays, that would not be an all’s-well-that-ends-well scenario. Instead, the show gives him agency as well as better acceptance when he turns up at Mr. Katimski’s (Jeff Perry) house.

  • The Office, 'Ultimatum'

    (Season 7, Episode 13)
    What better way to gear up for the new year than finding inspiration in the resolutions of Dunder Mifflin’s finest? In this episode of “The Office,” the staff shares their New Year’s resolutions, including (but not limited to) flossing, eating vegetables and learning how to do a cartwheel. Like clockwork, the nice sentiments begin to get out of hand as each character deals with some of their own hardships. Michael (Steve Carell) finds himself heartbroken when he sees that Holly (Amy Ryan) is still dating A.J. (Rob Huebel), despite her promise to herself that she wanted to be engaged by now. Creed (Creed Bratton) becomes angry when Erin (Ellie Kemper) successfully cartwheels in front of him. Ultimately, the episode ties its loose ends, honoring the resolutions made (albeit perhaps not in the way the characters were expecting), celebrating the virtue of upholding the commitments made for you and only you.

  • Seinfeld, 'The Millennium'

    (Season 8, Episode 20)
    It is only 1997 in the episode, but Kramer (Michael Richards) and Newman (Wayne Knight) are already getting a jump on planning New Year’s Eve parties for the new millennium. Originally planning to co-host, Newman says the party cannot include Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), which causes Kramer to spinoff into his own festivities. There are a few deals cut to ensure good guest lists and ridiculously early supply shopping, but the kicker comes when when Jerry realizes Newman scheduled his party for the wrong year. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the episode Lauren Graham guest stars as Jerry’s most recent girlfriend, who gets into a speed-dial fight with her stepmother over him, and George (Jason Alexander) does everything he can — including wearing Babe Ruth’s uniform — to get fired by the Yankees so he can join the Mets (who cannot poach him but imply they will hire him if he’s a free agent).

  • Starstruck, 'NYE'

    (Season 1, Episode 1)
    “Starstruck” was one of 2021’s smartest (and most under-sung) takes on romantic comedy, and its New Year’s Eve-set pilot gets things going with a bang. Jessie (Rose Matafeo), our messy millennial protagonist, gets dragged to a party that just reminds her of how single and without prospects she is. Thanks to her loud, crass sense of humor and one too many drinks, she makes a fool of herself in front of a stranger (Nikesh Patel) who reminds her of the “schmokin’” hot employee at the Shepherd’s Bush Superdrug. He totally takes the bait. As creator and co-writer as well as star, Matafeo opts to skip the midnight kiss, but she wins where it counts. First when she ends up in bed with him — “Do you want to have sex?” “We’re having sex!” “Yeah, I know, but do you want to? I’m just checking it’s not a mistake!” — and again when she realizes the reason he looks familiar is because he’s heartthrob movie star Tom Kapoor. It’s a ridiculous premise that could make for the cheesiest rom-com of all time, but it works because of Jessie’s reaction: She freaks out, of course, but when the initial shock wears off, there’s a lack of any real fandom, dissolving much of what could have made for a complicated power dynamic. To Jessie, she and Tom are just two people. In fact, she may be the catch of the two, as Tom demonstrates when he’s the one to bashfully come back for more. And with truly special chemistry, sharply written lines about period sex and some eccentric outfits to top it all off, this episode is simultaneously the dreamiest and realest you could treat yourself to on your New Year’s Eve.

  • That '70s Show, 'That '70s Finale'

    (Season 8, Episode 22)
    The series finale of “That ’70s Show” is set on the final day of that decade, with a lot of change in the air for characters such as Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith), who are planning to move to Florida; Donna (Laura Prepon), who is heading to college; and Jackie (Mila Kunis), who finally realizes she loves Fez (Wilmer Valderrama). The transition to a new decade admittedly might be a bit more notable if the spinoff series, “That ’80s Show,” hadn’t already come and went. (It aired for only one season, in 2002, while this first episode aired in 2006.) But it’s hard to argue with using such a monumental time on a calendar to mark such an iconic episode as a series finale, which, on its own, more than holds up as a modern classic episode (including the return of Ashton Kutcher). Some of the best New Year’s parties are the ones where friends just gather in a house and spend time together, much as they did all year during the previous 12 months and likely will for the next 12 to come, and this episode features one last gathering in the basement to cap off an eight-season sitcom run. 

  • The X-Files, 'Millennium'

    (Season 7, Episode 4)
    This episode is more than the usual “of the week” story because it is a crossover designed to act as a finale for the drama “Millennium.” The episode saw the heroes of both shows (David Duchovny’s Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully, and Lance Henriksen’s Frank Black) come together to try to stop a secret organization that is creating zombies. Not everyone thinks such horror is befitting of the holiday season, but what makes this episode stand out is the gift it gave diehard fans: the first romantic kiss between Mulder and Scully. The New Year’s Eve holiday has made such a big deal out of people finding someone to kiss at midnight, but no matter what time of year you watch this episode, their moment is a special one.

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