Happy Passover: A Timeline Of Memorable TV Show Episodes Celebrating The Jewish Holiday (2025)

Passover, also called Pesach, is beginning at sundown today and there is no shortage of episodes of television shows celebrating the holiday.

By definition, the eight-day Passover commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is observed by a special meal called a Seder, abstaining from leavened foods (chametz), and cleaning homes to remove these foods. And it includes retelling the Passover story, eating symbolic foods, and drinking wine.

In celebration, let’s take a walk down memory lane with a look at some of these memorable TV show episodes themed to Passover.

1) We begin with Fran Drescher sitcom The Nanny, which was never shy celebrating any Jewish holidays. In the 1997 episode of The Nanny titled “The Passed-Over Story,” the Sheffields join the Fines (including Renee Taylor as Fran’s meshuggah mother Sylvia) for Passover. At the Fine family seder, Sylvia slips a fifth question for young Gracie Sheffield, to read: “When is Daddy gonna marry my daughter already?”

Fun factoid: Fran Drescher pre-The Nanny lived around the corner from this writer in Flushing, Queens. Her parents were also named Sylvia and Morty, her sister was Nadine, and…yes…that nasal voice is real!

2) Perhaps the most familiar episode of any television series celebrating Passover was the Rugrats in 1995. In this third season episode of the long-running animated series, Grandpa Boris and the babies as they become trapped in the attic on Passover, where Boris tells the Jewish story of Exodus. Tommy is seen as Moses, while his cousin Angelica is the Pharoah of Egypt.

3) Guess what happened when Larry David hosted a Passover Seder on Curb Your Enthusiasm? Answer: Tension mounted when Larry invited a sex offender named Rick, who recently moved into the neighborhood, to his dinner. Oh, and Larry accused one of his neighbors of stealing his newspaper, among other mishegoss (translation: craziness).

4) Of course, we know teen-angst drama The OC for its annual “Chrismukkah” celebration. But in the 2004 episode of The OC titled The Nana," Sandy’s (Peter Gallagher) mother Sophie (Linda Lavin) arrived to celebrate Passover with the rest of the Cohens. Instead of the normally crusty Sophie, her surprisingly warm and kind demeanor was hiding the truth that she had lung cancer.

5) Passover Alaska style! Set in the fictitious town of Cicely, Alaska, the 1990-95 dramedy Northern Exposure is the last place you would expect a Passover celebration. But there were actually two episodes themed to the Jewish holiday.

In “The Body in Question" season three installment, Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow), the neurotic young Jewish physician from New York City, falls asleep and sees a Seder in turn-of-the-century Poland. Then, in season five’s “Fish Story,” his potential love interest Maggie O’Connell (Janine Turner) wants to host a Seder for Fleischman.

6) Passover a la the “Gorgeous Ladies of Wresting.” In a third season episode of Netflix’s GLOW in 2019, Jackie Tohn as the Jewish party girl Melrose explains the entire story of Passover and the Holocaust to the group.

7) Live from New York…it’s Saturday Night Live Passover style! In 2015, Vanessa Bayer as Jacob the Bar Mitzvah boy stopped by on “Weekend Update” to talk about Passover.

Happy Passover! Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach. (Have a kosher and joyous Passover.)