How ‘The Waltons’ Became a Thanksgiving Tradition

Lauren Novak November 5, 3:21 pm

THE WALTONS, Ralph Waite, Kami Cotler, Judy Norton-Taylor, Mary Beth McDonough, in the TV movie, 'A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain,' 11/22/1982. CROPPED — Everett Collection

What To Know

The Waltons became a Thanksgiving tradition due to its heartfelt portrayal of family, gratitude, and perseverance, especially highlighted in memorable holiday-themed episodes.
The 2022 film A Waltons Thanksgiving, airing on The CW, continues the show’s legacy with a new cast and story set during the Great Depression, focusing on themes of faith and community.
The enduring appeal of The Waltons during the holidays lies in its depiction of ordinary people cherishing family and simplicity, and the series remains accessible on streaming platforms like Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.

When you think of nostalgic Thanksgiving television, there’s something about The Waltons that just feels like the perfect comforting watch on Turkey Day. The series, which first premiered in 1972, captured the heart of American family life in a way few shows ever have, reminding viewers of gratitude, the love of family and perseverance through hard times. Now, more than fifty years later, the 2022 film A Waltons Thanksgiving brings back that same feeling, and viewers can see it on Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 8:00pm ET on The CW.

What is A Waltons Thanksgiving?

Created for the CW in 2022, the new movie revisits Walton’s Mountain with a fresh cast. Set in 1934, the story finds John Walton (Teddy Sears) struggling to keep his family afloat during the Great Depression, while his wife, Olivia (Bellamy Young), tries to hold their home together. The annual Harvest Festival Fair is in full swing and when a mysterious orphan boy enters their lives, the family learns lessons of faith and community once again.

According to producers at Magnolia Hill Productions, the goal of the newer films wasn’t to reinvent The Waltons, but to preserve its legacy. Writer Jim Strain and director Joe Lazarov worked with Warner Bros. Television and The CW to craft a story that felt timeless but still relevant. After the success of The Waltons Homecoming in 2021, the creative team saw that audiences were craving wholesome TV and A Waltons Thanksgiving builds on that nostalgia.

Why are The Waltons associated with Thanksgiving?

The original Waltons was based on the real childhood of creator Earl Hamner Jr., who grew up in rural Virginia during the Depression. His stories were filled with the small, authentic details of family life, which became the foundation of the series. Those moments were real, and they reminded audiences in the ’70s, just as they do now, that there’s beauty in simplicity and family time. One of the show’s most memorable episodes, “The Thanksgiving Story” from 1973, centered on the family preparing for the holiday, complete with kitchen mishaps and that iconic dinner-table scene that’s been replayed in countless retrospectives since.

Thanksgiving came up for the Waltons again in their 1993 reunion TV movie, A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion, in which the Walton children, who are now adults, return to Walton Mountain with their new families.

Samuel Goergen, Ryan Newman, Logan Shroyer, Tatum Matthews, Christian Finlayson, Callaway Corrick and Marcelle LeBlanc attend the premiere for "A Waltons' Thanksgiving" at The Garland on November 14, 2022 in North Hollywood, California

Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Part of why The Waltons endures, especially during the holidays, is because it’s about ordinary people doing their best with what they have. Even actress Judy Norton, who played Mary Ellen, once noted that those family dinner scenes, though not always fun to film, became a symbol of the show’s legacy.